Emerald
by Starkittie
Summary: He was everything a girl could want in a guy. He was rich, extremely HOT and he liked spending time with me. I never dreamed he would be something I never believed was real. What was I going to do? AU Jeff Hardy/OC others to come later
1. Chapter 1

**This is only my second attenpt to post one of my stories. This will be a chapter story as apposed to the one shot I posted before. Just a little tidbit, the writing in _italic_ are flashback scenes. I hope y'all enjoy...**

'Don't stop! No matter what, don't stop!' I told myself as I ran full out as fast as I could through the dead quiet streets. My legs were burning from the run, but fear kept me going. The city was pretty much shut down for the night. There was no one around.

I knew that running like this was pretty much useless but I needed to know that at least I tried to save myself. On more block and I would be safe in my apartment. The bright lights of the police station across the street from my building made me feel a little better. That was why I had picked this apartment in the first place. Finally, I reached the door to my building. I ran in and kept running up the three flights of stairs. I jammed my key in the door and threw myself inside. It was all I could do not to slam it. Knowing my cousin/roommate was asleep was the only thing that kept me from doing it.

If what I had read in all those books was true, then he couldn't get in. I was safe for the moment. I leaned back against the door when my exhausted legs finally gave out on me. I slid down the down to sit on the floor. I could feel the muscles in my calves twitching. I looked down at them and watched my calves go blurry as the tears welled up and started rolling down my cheeks. After all the stories my Grandmother had told me and after reading everything I could find about the legends and superstitions, I still never truly believed that they existed. They were the stuff of movies and novels. Essentially, make-believe. Never would I have believed that I would actually come across something that wasn't real. Everything I had studied over the years had warned me what to look for. He had none of those signs. He looked nothing like they described. By all accounts, he was pretty much the most amazing looking guy I had ever seen. I had never seen it coming.

_ He offered me his hand to help me out of the car. When he closed his warm hand around mine, I felt that familiar tingling sensation that I got every time I touched him. I was still amazed that someone like him would want to spend time with me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders as he walked me to the front door to his building. We stepped through the archway in to the dark hallway. We made it about halfway through, when, before I knew it, he pulled me closer to him and then quickly pushed me against the wall. His mouth was on mine an instant later. I wrapped my arms around his neck. These impromptu darkened make-out moments were happening more frequently recently. They were also getting hotter and more urgent. I was totally ready to take it there with him but he would always stop before we got to that point. Now, I was pretty sure he wasn't going to stop. He started to kiss down the side of my neck._

_ "I have something I need to tell you, love." He said against my throat. His breath was like fire on the sensitive skin of my neck._

_ "Yes?" He slid his hands down to my hips pulling me even closer to him. Our bodies molded to each other as though we were made just to fit one another._

_ "This is very important to me and my people." His people?_

_ "What does that…" My voice left me as he ran his tongue over the thundering pulse in my neck. He kissed the spot over and over, speaking in between the kisses._

_ "I need to 'true' you. I'm desperate with the need to, love."_

_ "'True' me?" What does that mean?" I barely stifled a moan at the feel of his teeth grazing my neck._

_ "I need to make you mine. You're my 'kept', love."_

_ "Kept?"_

_ "My one true love. My soul mate, my partner," he lifted his head and looked at me, "my queen." He kissed me. "We were destined to be together from the moment we were both born. Together," he kissed me again, "we can rule this city. My people will adore you just as much as I do. They will be honored to have you as their queen." He was starting to weird me out a bit. He came in to kiss me but I held his head back so I could look at him._

_ "Who are your people?" Suddenly, one of the lights overhead flickered on. He smiled at me, showing me a set of brilliantly white teeth that looked slightly off. His eyes looked as if they had changed color as well. They were normally a pleasant understated green but now they seemed to be the color and shine of perfect emeralds. "Who are your people?" I repeated, afraid now. His smile widened._

_ "The strigoi, my love, of course." _

**I hoped you guys are looking forward to the next chapter cause I'm really liking writing this story. It would mean a lot if you hit that button and gave me a review. Thanks to everyone who read this. Stay tuned for Chapter 2...**


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to say a big 'Thank you' to everyone who read the first chapter. I hope you guys are liking it so far. Same as last time the part in _italic _is a flashback. Enjoy!****  
**

'Strigoi' the Romanian word for vampire. From the look in his eyes, he knew that I knew what the word meant. There was no way. Vampires didn't exist. I had runaway because…well, it was not that I believe he really _was _a vampire, but because he looked like _he _believed that he really was one. When I laughed at him, he didn't laugh with me. That was when I had shoved him away from me and ran. Okay, I'll be honest. He let me push him away and run.

I pulled my knees up to my chest. I wrapped my arms around them, hugging them. I knew he was too good to be true. There would be no way that a guy with his status would even second glance a girl like me that struggled everyday to make the ends meet. Now I knew why, he was crazy. Or maybe…no, no way. Nothing about him fit the legends. I had never seen fangs, he wasn't cold like they should be, I had even seen him eat a three course meal. Hell, the first time I had met him had been the middle of the day.

_"Come on! Please start!" I turned the key in the ignition again. The engine made a moaning noise. "Damn it!" Of course my car would die on me. I was already running late for work. At least I was done with my story. All I had to do was proof it and turn it into the Chief for a re-read I opened the door, popping the hood along the way. I got out, walked around the hood and shoved it up. I stared down at the dead engine of my Cavalier. I had no clue what I was even looking for. I put both of my hands on the raised hood and leaned my forehead on my arms, closing my eyes. I tried to weight my options. Maggie didn't have a car, so no help there. She just walked the two block from our apartment to the diner that she worked at. I could call my friend John who worked with me. He knew everything there was to know about cars. But he was out of town on assignment. My only other was to call the Chief, let him know I was running late, hike the six blocks to the nearest bus stop and pray it was running sorta on time. I really hated the bus but it looked like my best option._

_"Do you need some help, love?" The man's voice was right by my ear. I jumped, taking a couple of steps backwards and tripping over my own feet. I would have landed on my butt if the man hadn't grabbed me by my upper arms and pulled me against him. I was falling into the traffic. He had just saved my life. "Easy there, love. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?" I shook my head._

_"Yes, I'm okay. Thank y…" I looked up into his face. Oh my God! It was Jeffrey Hardy. This was the richest, most powerful man in the city. I had seen pictures of him in the paper and videos on the news. He owned half of the city. He owned office buildings, apartment complexes, clubs, restaurants and the diner that Maggie worked at. He even owned the newspaper where I worked. I had always joked with Maggie how gorgeous he was but now I saw that the pictures didn't do him justice. He was amazing up close._

_"Are you sure you're okay, love?" He asked me, gently rubbing my arm. I nodded. He smiled, still rubbing my arm. What did it mean if his hand left my arm tingling every where he touched it?_

_"Yes, I…I…I'm fine." I stepped back. He was dressed in a button down black shirt and a nice pair of fitted jeans. I could pretty much guarantee that his jeans cost more than my entire wardrobe._

_"Do you know what's wrong with your car?"_

_"No. I think it just finally died. I guess it's time to get a new one." I sighed. "Yeah, right. I'm just going to end up riding the bus." I smiled at him, knowing now ironic my statement would be to him. "Save money that way." He smiled._

_"Makes sense. For today, can I give you a ride to where you're going?"_

_"Umm…" How do you tell Jeffrey Hardy 'no'?_

_"I know, your parents taught you never to except rides from strangers." He held out his hand. "I'm Jeff." I looked at his hand extended to me for a few seconds before I finally took it._

_"I know who you are Mr. Hardy." He grinned._

_"Call me Jeff. Please don't believe everything you read and hear. They tend to make up a lot of things."_

_"I don't believe most of it. I know half the people that write those stories. They're mostly going for headlines."_

_"Do you work for the paper?"_

_"Yes. I write a small piece that's normally hidden between the full page ads in the back." I realized that he was still holding my hand in both of his much larger hands._

_"So, do you have a name, love?" God, he was so distracting._

_"Oh, sorry. I'm Sophibella Laurell. But everyone just calls me Sophi." He smiled._

_"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you Sophi." He lifted my hand and kissed it. He stopped for a second and kissed my hand again before he lowered it and finally let it go. "Now that we're no longer strangers, can I offer you that ride once more?"_

_"Yes. Thank you. I would love to ride you. Oh, ride __**with**__ you. I would love to ride __**with**__ you." I ducked my head trying to hide the fact that my face was the color of a ripe tomato. Leave it to me to let something like that come out of my mouth and in front of someone like him. I ventured a glance back at his face. He was smiling._

_"I would like nothing more than to drive you to work." He offered me his arm and led me to his car._

I had gone in to the Chief's office later that afternoon. To my surprise, Jeff had been in there. I had no clue that Matt Hardy, my Editor and Chief, was the brother of Jeff. It had never occurred to me to connect the two. Chief had gotten a phone call and told me to sit. While he had been on the phone, Jeff had asked me out to dinner. Who was I to say 'no'? I told him I would love to and here we were 4 months later.

I laid my cheek on the top of my knees. What was I going to do? How do you tell your boyfriend that you're over when he's completely insane. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard the knock on the door.

"Sophi, please open the door. I need to talk to you." Jeff said from the other side. Maybe if I stayed silent, he wouldn't know I was here. I stood up and took a step back away from the door. "Sophi? Please open up. I know you're standing right there staring at the door. Please, love." I snatched my hand back. I had actually been reaching for the knob.

"No, please just go away Jeff. Tomorrow I'll talk to Matt and we'll get you some help okay?" I heard him chuckled quietly.

"You think I'm crazy? I promise, I'm not crazy, love." I walked to open the door. What was wrong with me? I wanted to open the door. It's like I was drawn to him. You know the whole moth to the flame kinda thing. I leaned my cheek against the cool wood of the door.

"How can I believe you? Vampires don't exist Jeff. They are just the stuff of legends. They aren't real."

"Right now, you have your whole body pressed against the back of the door, trying to cool off cause you want to open the door. Badly. You don't know how much I wish I was that door, love." I stepped away from the door. "Please don't run away from me Sophi."

"How did you know?"

"I can feel you." He can feel me?

"Okay, let's say that I believe you. If I open the door, will you be able to come in?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cause you're never invited me into your apartment before." So at least that much of the legends were true. I walked back to the door. I stood up on my toes, laying my hands against the door, I leaned in to look through the peephole. Jeff was standing close to the door. His hands were in the exact spot that mine were. I moved my hands higher and his followed.

"Jeff?"

"Yes, love?"

"If I open the door, will you answer my question? All my question?"

"As many as I can." I guess that was as good as I was going to get. I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. Jeff was standing there with a hand on either side of the door. His dark hair was in his face as he looked down at me. I just stood there staring at him. My hands itched to touch him. I shoved them into the back pocket of my jeans.

"I'm still finding this very hard to believe."

"I know, love."

"All my life I've known that they weren't real." He smiled at me with just a hint of teeth.

"Are you sure about that Sophi? You must believe or want to believe deep down inside otherwise you never would have studied us as much as you did. Look in your heart Sophi." His eyes turned that Emerald green again. I took a step back.

"Why do your eyes change color like that?" He blinked and they changed back.

"They change with my emotions. They get dark almost black when I'm angry. They only turn the bright green when I'm with you. When I touch you, smell your skin, even sometimes when I think about you. I can't help it. It's involuntary."

"What did you mean when you said I was your 'kept'? How do you know that I'm that?"

"You're the one I'm fated to be with. When I was born it was set in the stars that I would have one true love, my soul mate. When I found her, she would become mine and I would keep her safe and care for her so she will never want for anything. I was told that the moment I saw her, I would know."

"But me? Jeff, I'm not the kind of people refer to as their soul mate. People don't think of me like that." He smiled at me. I felt that fluttery sensation in my stomach just like I always did.

"I do, love. You are _my_ kept. The moment I saw you step out of your car that day, I knew. You can't imagine what you mean to me. If you send me away and never see me again, you will always be the only one for me. Forever, you are the only one." I took a step towards him. He was right, I wanted to believe him but he wasn't what was supposed to be typical for a vampire.

"Jeff…" I took another step towards him. "You don't have any of the signs that the legends said you would. You're warm, when they all said you would be cold." I took another step towards him. "I've felt your heartbeat and I've felt you breathe." I took another step. "The first time I met you was in the middle of the morning." I took one more step. "I've seen you eat food." I stopped less than a foot away from him. If he wanted to, he could reach out and grab me. From the way he was flexing his hands on the door frame, he wanted to. I must be losing my mind cause I wanted him to touch me too. Now I had to ask him the question I'm not sure I wanted the answer to. "Do you…drink…blood?" He sighed as if he didn't want to tell me.

"Yes, love, I do. But not everyday. Only when I have to."

"Do you have to drink from random people or is it always someone you know?"

"I don't drink from anyone. I never have. It's always from a donor but I've never bitten anyone if that's what you're what you're asking. That's what one does with their kept. From what I've heard, it's a pretty…umm…_personal_ experience." I felt my cheeks get warm. I knew what he meant.

"What exactly happens when you 'true' someone?" I asked.

"I would have to turn you first and once you were a vampire then we would perform a small ritual between the two of us and then we would be bound together, forever."

"Does it hurt?" I whispered.

"What, love? Does what hurt?" He whispered back.

"If you turned me, would it hurt?"

"I don't know, love. I don't know what happens when you're turned. I wished I could tell you it won't hurt, but I don't know."

"How could you not know? You were turned once right? Was it so long ago that you don't remember?" He smiled.

"I was born this way, love. I do know people that were turned but no one has been turned in decades. Most of us find our kept with in our kind so there is no need to turn them." A thought hit me.

"How old _are_ you Jeff?"

"I was born about twenty years before the Civil War started." Oh my. I did the math in my head.

"That would make you almost 170 years old." He smiled.

"I guess that's about right."

"So, do you have superpowers or anything like that?" I asked jokingly.

"I wouldn't call them superpowers but we're really fast and strong and we heal very quickly. We have very acute hearing and eyesight. Although some of us can vanish from place to place."

"Vanish? What does that mean?"

"It's easier to show you. Hold on. Stay right here." He grinned and disappeared. Oh my holy hell! I stuck my head out in the hallway and looked both ways down the hall but he was gone. I stepped back in the doorway just as Jeff reappeared in front of me.

"Oh…" I stumbled backwards and fell to the foor.

"Are you okay, love?" he went to help me but was stopped short, like he had run into an invisible wall. "Damn it! Sophi?" He wasn't lying about not being able to come in.

"I'm okay Jeff. You just startled me." I stood up. I walked back up to him.

"I'm sorry." He handed me a newspaper.

"What's this?" I looked down at the paper that seemed to be written in french. It had tomorrow's date on it.

"That's today's paper from Paris." What?

"Paris? As in France?" He nodded. "Jeff, how did you get this?"

"I went there to show you the vanishing. I can do it at anytime. But only to a place that I've seen before. I don't have to have been there but at least seen a recent picture of the place. I could take you anywhere in the world you want to go, love."

"Anywhere?"

"Yes, love, anywhere. If you want to spend the day in Rome or have dinner with me in Paris, I can do that for you." Wow, that could have it's benefits. There was still one question weighing on my mind.

"Can I ask you one more thing Jeff?" He nodded.

"Yes, love. Ask me whatever you want." It was all I could do not to reach out and touch him. I wrapped my arms around my waist to keep my hands to myself.

"Did you tell me that you were King of the city?" He looked a bit grim.

"Yes, Sophi, I am the King and you, my love are destined to be the Queen. Everyone of men knows who you are and they have sworn to protect you with their life if need be, just like they have me. I want you safe, even if you deny me, you will always be safe." He took a step forward and came up against the invisible wall again.

"How did you become King? Did you have to fight for it?" I watched his face shut down like he was trying to hide his emotions from me. His eyes went black.

"No, I inherited the position from my father. He was killed by The Ministry. They killed my mother 50 years ago. I don't know how my father held on so long with out her. They meant so much to each other. They meant the world to me and Matt too." I didn't even think as I stepped up to Jeff and put my hand on his cheek.

"Jeff, I'm so sorry." He rubbed his cheek against my palm. "I know how l felt when I lost my parents. I felt like something inside of me died. I know how bad it hurts." He turned his cheek to kiss my palm.

"Sophi…" He cupped my hand in his, holding it to him. He kissed my palm again and slowly kissed down to the pulse in my wrist. My breath caught as he kissed my wrist. I never knew that was such a sensitive spot. "I need you Sophi." He whispered against my wrist. I laid my hand against his chest. I could feel his heart beating under my hand. I unconsciously leaned into him.

"Jeff…" He abruptly pulled me out of the doorway and against his body. His lips burned a path down the side of my throat. My hands instantly found their way into his hair.

"Sophi…love…" I felt my back come up against the wall on the other side of my doorway. His hands were caressing my back under my shirt. "I want you so badly, Sophi." He kissed me. He pulled away to kiss down my neck again

"Jeff…" This time I couldn't stop the quiet moan that flowed out. I could feel him pushing my shirt up. When the cool air of the hallway hit my bare stomach, my brain came back on-line. "Jeff…wait." I knew how much Jeff wanted to turn me and I wasn't quiet ready. He stopped his hands where they were. He paused his kissing but left his lips lying against my throat. "I can't do this, not yet." He slowly pressed a kiss against my pulse. "I need more time to think Jeff. I'm not ready yet. Please, just a little more time." He lifted his head to look in my eyes. They were Emerald again.

"I can give you time, love. But we don't have much of it." He leaned in and kissed me softly. "Can I come back tomorrow night? I have more I need to tell you." He kissed me again.

"Yes, you can." He reluctantly let me go. I stepped back into the relative safety of my apartment.

"Till tomorrow, love?" Jeff asked. His eyes were still bright. I smiled back.

"Yes, till tomorrow." He nodded and vanished. I closed the door and leaned back against it. Jeff was a vampire. Somehow, I was his Queen. What the HELL was I going to do?

**I would really appreciate reviews. I need to know if you guys are liking it enough for me to keep writing. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing and if you like the story so far. Thanks! =^.^=**


	3. Chapter 3

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to xAngelofHardyx, Lady-Sony, Sinfully Sined, HighflyinJeffHardy and RoseanneMay. You guys rock!!! Here's Chapter 3...enjoy!**

I called in sick the next morning. Chief told me to take all the time I needed. He told me, if I wanted to, I could work from home for a while, if I still wanted to work. It was up to me. Oh my gosh, I didn't even think about it but if Jeff was born a vampire and Matt was his brother, then wouldn't Matt be a vampire too. God, I wondered how many other people I knew were vampires.

John called me later that afternoon to check up on me. I never called in unless I was really ill. He sounded so concerned. He kept asking me if he needed to come over. He was such a good friend. He was willing to leave work and come stay with me cause he thought I was sick and alone. I reassured him that Maggie was with me and I was fine. He made me promise to call him if I needed him.

Around 2 o'clock, I was trying to find anything on TV to distract my racing mind. Maggie was getting ready to go to her closing shift at the diner. All day I had been thinking about what Jeff told me. I did care about Jeff but I wondered, did he care about me just because I was his kept or did he _truly_ care about me?

I almost jumped off the couch when there was a knock on the door. I knew it was Jeff before I even looked through the peephole.

"What's wrong with you today, Sophi? You've been jumpy all day." Maggie asked me. She walked back to her bedroom. I got off the couch and walked to the door as he knocked again. I leaned in and looked through the peephole. Jeff was standing there with his hands on the door exactly where mine were. I leaned back and opened the door. He was standing there with his hands tucked into his jeans pockets. Tonight, he was wearing a dark blue button down shirt and black jeans. To top it off, he was wearing a black leather jacket. I just stood there staring at him. It had to be against some kind of law for him to look that good. He had this weird look on his face.

"Sophi, love?" I realized that he had already said my name a few times. I shook my head.

"Yes, I'm sorry. You're here a lot earlier than I expected." I was just wearing a worn out pair of jeans and a red tank top. My hair was still up in the ponytail that I had put it in after my shower. Thank God out of habit I had put on a little bit of makeup on when I got dressed.

"I just couldn't wait…I needed to see you, love." Damn, there were those butterflies again. I started to say something.

"Jeff…" I was cut off when Maggie walked behind me.

"Hey Jeff, what are you still doing out there? Sophi, you've been acting weird all day. Come on in Jeff, I was just about to leave." He looked at me to see if it was okay. I bit my lip. I nodded. I stepped back to let him in. He hesitantly stepped inside. Maggie walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "You two have a good night. See you later Sophi." She smiled at me and pulled the door closed behind her. Jeff slipped his jacket off and laid it on the back of the sofa.

"Sophi…" I started to walk away from him towards my bedroom.

"This is just so much to take in." I headed into my room. I didn't even bother with the light. Even though it was a dark overcast day, there was still enough light that I could see. "Jeff, I'm not sure I want to be a vampire. How am I supposed to be a Queen?" I was looking for my sweater that I couldn't seem to find. "I don't know how…" I turned around and he was standing right there. "Oh, Jeff, I didn't hear…" He didn't let me finish. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me up against his body. Then he kissed me. I was unprepared when he pulled me against him so my hands were laying against his chest. His other hand cupped the back of my neck, holding me where he wanted me. Oddly, I wasn't afraid of Jeff at all. I knew that if he wanted to, he could force me to do anything. But I was hoping that he cared enough about me not to force anything on me. My head fell back, useless against his hand as he started to drag fiery kisses down the side of my neck. His grip got tighter as he pulled my neck to one side. My hands fisted in his shirt.

"Oh, God, Jeff." I moaned. He seemed to be fighting himself. He kept grazing me with his teeth.

"Sophi," he took a step forward, pushing me back towards the bed. I started to unbutton his shirt. When my legs came up against the side of the bed, I pushed Jeff's shirt off his shoulders. He let go of me long enough to pull his shirt off and toss it behind him. That left him in his jeans and a black fitted wife-beater. I ran my hands down his chest. He placed a hand on either side of my face and kissed me again. His kiss was like one of those hardcore drugs. I couldn't get enough. I was addicted to his mouth.

"Sophi, love," I had started to run my hands up the inside of his shirt against his chest, "I'm sorry," kiss, "I'll stop. I didn't mean to," he kissed me softly, "I just needed to." I leaned in as he leaned away. I kissed him this time. I don't know what was wrong with me, I was never this aggressive. I ran my fingertips down his abs. I felt him shutter. He let go of my face and grabbed my wrists.

"Jeff, I don't think I want you to stop." I kissed his chin and the side of his neck. "Just…try not to bite me." Jeff groaned as I ran my tongue over the pulse in his neck, one of his favorite things to do to me.

"Love," he took my hands from under his shirt, "I don't think I can help myself. Please stop. I don't think I'll be able to control myself and I have something I need to tell you."

"Tell me later." I leaned in kiss him again, but he leaned back out of my reach.

"Sophi, please. This is important for you to know. After I'm done and if you still want to talk to me, I'll let you do whatever you want to me." He smiled slightly. "Anything you want, okay?" He rubbed the insides of my wrists with his thumbs. I nodded.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. What is it that you needed to tell me?"

"Do you remember last night when you asked me about my parents?" I nodded. "And I told you that they were killed by The Ministry?" I nodded again. He let go of one of my hands and urged me to sit down on the side of my bed. He kept holding on to my one hand as he sat beside me. "Well, Taker, the leader of The Ministry, is one of the oldest vampires I've ever met. He and my father were friends when they were younger and stayed friends until my dad trued my mom. Mark, that's what Taker used to be called, was in love with my mom but she wasn't his kept. He decided that he was going to true her anyway. Before he could, she met my dad and, well, you know the rest.

Dad and Mark had a falling out and Mark left town. I was still young when we started to hear rumors of Mark all across the country, now going by the name Taker. Taker was short for Undertaker. He got the name cause by this time he had gotten himself a gang of some pretty nasty evil individuals and were terrorizing towns and cities. If someone tried to stand up to him or run him out of town, he would just kill them." I could feel a cold chill running down my spine. Why did I feel like this wasn't going to be a conversation that I liked? Jeff must have sensed that what he was telling me was making me nervous. He lifted the hand he was still holding and kissed it. That calmed me down a little. He wouldn't look at me. The one time that he did, I gasped at the color of his eyes. They were darker than black, if that was even possible. It was like they were absorbing all the color around them.

"Did he try to take your father's city?" I asked quietly.

"Yes. The first time he time, he killed my mom when she refused to leave my dad. Normally, when a vampire loses his kept, he dies soon after she does. The bond is so strong that they loose the will to live. The only thing that kept my dad alive was me and Matt. Taker disappeared for a while, then, 10 years ago, he showed up. When he came back last time, Matt and I were out of town. We tried to get back when we heard he was here but we didn't make it in time. My dad was killed because we weren't here. It's my fault." I could hear the pain in his voice and see it on his face. I used my free hand to touch his face and make him look at me. He closed his eyes again, trying not to scare me.

"Jeff, look at me. I'm not afraid of you, it just surprised me how dark your eyes were. Please look at me." I smoothed my hand across his cheek. He breathed in deep and slowly opened his eyes. They were back to their normal green. "Jeff, listen to me. It wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for their death. They wouldn't want that." He leaned his face into my hand.

"If I had been there, then maybe…"

"You would be dead too. Where would that leave the rest of your people? Where would that leave me?"

"Sophi," he raised my hand to his lips and kissed it again.

"Jeff," I started to run my fingers through his dark hair. It actually did feel as soft and thick as it looked. He closed his eyes (not before I saw them flash Emerald again) at the feel of me running my fingertips across his scalp. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes, love. Ask me anything you want."

"Why are you the King instead of Matt? Isn't he older?"

"Yes, he's older but he doesn't have a kept yet. She hasn't been born." He smiled at me. "I knew the moment you were born. I had this feeling."

"You had a feeling about me?" He grinned and nodded.

"Soon after, I started to dream about you as an adult. I couldn't see your face, but I knew it was you." He kissed my hand again. "Do you know," he flipped my wrist over and laid a kiss against the pulse in my wrist, "the night before I met you," kiss, "I finally saw your face in my dream." Kiss. "That how I knew it was you when you got out of the car that day." I scooted closer to him. I wanted to distract him and stall.

"Was I wearing the same thing in the dreams as I was that day?" He smirked at me.

"Not even close."

"So," I scooted closer. Now we were pretty much hip to hip, "what was I wearing in the dream?"

"Not a thing." I felt a wave of heat wash over me as his eyes transformed to their brilliant Emerald color. I started to ask him something else. "Sophi, I know what you're doing. God knows, its working, love, but this is really important and you need to know." I sighed.

"Okay. Go ahead." He looked down at our joined hands.

"The whole point of my story about my parents was the fact that…Taker's back in town." My heart dropped to my stomach.

"Jeff, no." I pulled my hand out of his and wrapped my arms around him. "He's coming after you Jeff." I squeezed him to me. I hadn't really know Jeff for all that long, but I knew in my heart, if something happen to him…I didn't want to even think about it. I felt Jeff's arms envelop me. "Can you stop them?" I started to cry. Just the thought of Jeff getting hurt was painful to think about. "Why don't you leave town. If he can't find you, he can't hurt you." He leaned back so that he could look at my face. The tears were quietly flowing down my cheeks.

"Love," he stroked my cheek. He wiped the tears from under my eyes with his thumbs. "I'll be okay. Don't worry about me." He leaned in and kissed me. "Don't cry love. I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe. I'll never forgive myself if something happens to you."

"Me? Don't worry about me. You're the King for God's sake! Why would they want some no-name reporter? I'm nothing special."

"You are to me love. That's why he's back. They know I have some leverage now. If they get to you they'll use you to make me give up my seat. I can't let them do that to you."

"Why would you give up your seat?" He pulled back and dropped his hands from my face. He looked at me like I was insane.

"You still don't understand do you?" He looked discontented by the fact that I wasn't grasping what he was telling me. He stood up and started to pace in front of me. "You're my kept. I will go to the ends of the earth, shit, I'd even go through hell itself to keep you safe. They know that. They'll use you."

"Jeff, I don't think…" He cut me off, yelling.

"Damn it, Sophi, they could kill you!" My mouth snapped shut. "It won't be quick. They'll torture you until you tell them everything you know and then they _might_ kill you to put you out of your misery." Jeff had never yelled at me before. I was stunned to say the least. He had his back to me. I watched him run his fingers through his hair, defeated, as his words actually hit me for the first time.

He turned around to look at me. My face had to reflect how I was now feeling. "Sophi," he walked over and knelt on the floor in front of me. "I'm sorry, love." He placed a hand on either side of my throat, rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs. "I didn't mean to yell at you." He kissed me softly. "I'm sorry I scared you." He kissed me again as I encircled his wrists the best I could. "This is just so serious and I'm worried about you."

"Are you gonna die on me Jeff?" I felt the tears starting to well up again.

"I'm going to try not to. But I will die to protect you, love."

"Jeff, I don't want you too." He kissed me, preventing me from saying anything else.

"If you decide to let me true you, you will feel the same way I do love, I promise. I know you don't understand how I can feel this way but I swear to you, love, I do."

"I know you do. Oh…" I had just realized something.

"What?"

"What about Maggie? If you want to protect me, you have to protect her too. We made a pact when our parents died that we would take care of each other. Jeff, she's all I have in this world. I don't want her to be in danger too." I started to cry again. God, what was wrong with me? I was usually not a crier. But I was scared and upset. Jeff slipped his arms around me, pulling me close.

"Shh, love. I'm going to take care of her too." I laid my head on his shoulder, tucking my face against his neck. "I'm going to call my two closest friends. They are also my best men. They are like brothers to me. I trust them with my life." He leaned back so he could look at my face. "I trust them with yours too." He kissed me. "I want them to come over here and meet you, okay?" I nodded.

"Okay." Jeff went on to tell me that once I met them, I could decide who I was more comfortable with and they would be, for a lack of a better term, my personal guard. I wasn't sure how I felt about that but if that made Jeff feel better then who was I to argue with the King? Since I couldn't find my sweater, Jeff gave me his shirt that I had stripped off of him earlier. I sat on the couch in the living room, curled up in Jeff's shirt while he paced back and forth in front of me making his phone calls. Just watching him pace, I could see that he exuded power. It pretty much just emanated off him.

He stopped, with his back to me, to look out of the large picture window in our living room that overlooked the small playground behind our building. He was waiting for someone to come back on the line. I watched his shoulder muscles bunch and shift as he ran his hand through his hair. He blew out a breath, sounding exasperated.

I stood up. The need to comfort him was extremely strong. Even though I was in danger, all I wanted was to make _him_ feel better. I walked up to him and slid my arms around his waist. I pressed my cheek against the wide span of his well defined back. The heat that radiated from him warmed me more than his shirt ever could. He laid his hand over mine where they were crossed over his stomach. While he talked to someone, I pressed soft kisses to his back. In turn, he lifted one of my hands and kissed it while the person responded to what he said. I heard him snap his phone shut. He turned around to face me. He snaked his arms on the inside of the shirt and pulled me closer to him. I laid my head on the upper swell of his chest. He placed his chin on the top of my head. We stood that way for a few minutes. There was never an awkward silence between the two of us, it was just perfectly comfortable.

I lifted my head off of Jeff's chest when I heard the knock on the door. He let me go so that I could answer it just in case I needed to invite them in. I was so nervous. What if these guys didn't like me? Beyond the fact that Jeff was their King and they didn't have a choice, they were his friends. I walked to the door and looked through the peephole. I smiled and pulled the door open.

"John! What a nice surprise!" I stood to the side so that he could walk in. I shut the door behind him. I turned to him and gave him a hug. When I had taken the job at the paper, Maggie and I had just moved in town. We didn't know anyone. I met John on my first official day at work. Our desks were right beside each other. He had come over, popped a hip up on my desk and introduced himself in his usual cocky way. He told me his name was John Cena and proceeded to flirt with me. Granted, John was ridiculously good looking but for some reason, it just wasn't there between us. Now, I knew why, I was meant to be with Jeff. But beyond that, John and I became really good friends.

I looped my arm through John's and guided him into the apartment.

"What are you doing here? I told you I was fine, I just needed the day off." I smiled when I remembered that Jeff was in the room, "John, I want you to meet someone." I walked him over to Jeff. "John, this is my…uh…" how did I describe what Jeff was to me when I wasn't completely sure myself, "my _boyfriend_, Jeff Hardy." I noticed that Jeff gave John a look.

"We know each other." Jeff told me.

"You do? How?" I looked up at John. He just shrugged and grinned at me. Oh my God! I pulled my arm out of his and stepped away from him.

"John, you're…" he nodded. I was stunned. Then I got a little mad. I hit him in the arm. "Why didn't you tell me?" He shrugged again. He looked at Jeff.

"It wasn't my place to tell you." He nodded towards Jeff. "Our King here, told me not to. I was going to, but he said 'no'. He wanted to be the one to tell you."

"Oh, I guess that's okay." I walked back over to Jeff to stand beside him. "So, John is one of your 'best' men?" I asked. Jeff wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.

"Oddly enough, yeah." There was a knock on the door. "That must be Randy." John walked over and pulled the door open to reveal an amazingly hot guy. What was the deal with every vamp I met being really attractive? Randy nodded at John and Jeff.

"John, Jeff." They both nodded back. I just stood there watching them interact.

"Love, you want to invite him in?" Jeff asked me quietly.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry Randy. Come in, please." He nodded and walked in.

"Thanks." John shut the door behind him. Randy started to wander around my living room looking at my stuff. John just settled himself on the couch.

"Sophi," Jeff started, "this is Randy Orton. He runs 'Kiss' and 'H' downtown." Randy walked away from my bookcase and shook my hand.

"It's nice to meet you." I told Randy.

"Likewise." He did the whole look me up and down thing, totally checking me out. "You're a lucky vamp Jeff." Randy said with a grin and walked back to the bookcase. Jeff smiled at me.

"Since you're already friends with John, he'll be your _supraveghere_." My what?

"Jeff?"

"Yes, love?"

"At the risk of sounding completely dumb, what does that mean? I don't know if you know this, but I don't speak what I assume is Romanian." Jeff smiled again and leaned into kiss me.

"You could never sound dumb, love." He kissed me again. "It means 'guard'."

"I guess that makes sense." I smiled at him, earning myself another kiss.

"Damn! You guys need to get a room. I don't want to sit here and watch you two make-out all night." John said. I kicked his foot where it was propped up on the coffee table.

"Actually, this _is_ my room." I said, smiling sweetly at him. John made a face, but didn't argue. Damn, this Queen thing may have it's perks.

"Randy, I need you to watch over Maggie. She's Sophi's cousin and they're pretty close." Jeff told him. I noticed that Randy was looking at one of the pictures of me and Maggie together. Jeff's phone rang. He rubbed a hand down my back and turned away to answer it. I walked over to Randy to see what he was looking at. Randy was almost just like John. I had just met him but I felt at ease with him. Normally, I'm pretty reluctant to be around new people. (I'm actually extremely shy.) I was as comfortable with Randy like I had known him for years. When I stopped beside him, Randy picked up the picture he had been looking at.

"Is this Maggie?" I looked up at him. He was almost a foot taller than me. Now that I think about it, I was the shortest one here. Jeff and John were the same height, about 6'1", Randy had to be pushing 6'4", hell, Maggie was 5'7" and here I was barely hitting 5'5". God, it sucks being short.

"Yeah. She works at Starlight Diner." I thought I saw Randy's eyes flash briefly to a bright Sapphire color before he blinked and it went away.

"I know." He turned to look at me. "I'll take care of her Sophi. I promise." I saw Jeff close his phone.

"Okay. Are we good?" Jeff asked John and Randy.

"I'm cool." John said. He would be with me if I left the apartment and Jeff couldn't be with me.

"Randy?"

"I'm good. I'll go to the diner now. I got some paperwork to take care of. I'll just hang out there." I headed back over to Jeff, who wrapped his arm around me.

"Good, good." He kissed the top of my head. "Love, we're gonna leave you alone for a little while so you can get some sleep." He rubbed my back softly. "Don't answer the door for anyone you don't know personally." I nodded.

"Okay. I promise." John stood up and stretched.

"See you guys later." He winked at me and vanished.

"I'm gonna head out to. Oh," he looked at me, "I like blue, by the way." Randy said. He vanished as well. I shook my head.

"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that." Jeff laughed.

"You will, love." He kissed me. "I'll be back later. We can talk. You can ask me anything you want, about anything. Okay, love?" I smiled at him, hooking my arms behind his neck. He placed his hands on my hips, holding me to him.

"Anything I want?" I asked, smiling up at him. He smiled and kissed me.

"Anything you want, love."

I blinked at the clock when I heard the front door open. It was a little after 11pm. I had fallen asleep an hour after Jeff left. I just laid down, thinking I'd never fall asleep and here I was 6 or 7 hours later.

Before I could even turn on the light, Maggie ran into my room and jumped into the bed with me.

"Soph, guess what? You'll never believe what happened tonight." I reached over and clicked on the light.

"What? What happened?"

"You know that guy that comes in every night and sits in my section?"

"Yeah, the one you say that is 'too hot to be real'?"

"Yeah, Hottie McHott. Well, anyway, his name is Randy and he runs a couple of clubs downtown. I think they're the two that Jeff owns. Any who, I totally talked to him." She grabbed my hands. "He asked me out." I knew it.

"Really?" I wasn't that surprised.

"Yeah, I just ran up here to change really quick. We're going out for a late dinner. Oh crap, what am I gonna wear?" She hopped off my bed and threw open my closet. "What about my nice jeans and your red sweater?" I smiled, remembering what Randy said to me before he left.

"No, no. Wear the blue one."

**I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. I need to know if you guys are liking it enough for me to keep writing. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=**


	4. Chapter 4

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to xAngelofHardyx, Sinfully Sined, Lady-Sony, RoseanneMay, littleone999, Nialon, Ms. Chandy and Superstar89. You guys rock!!! Sophi and Jeff are gonna get a little...closer. :) Enjoy!**

I watched Maggie fly out the door to a waiting Randy. I locked the door behind her and wondered if Randy asked her out because he was supposed to watch out for her or because she was his kept. I had seen the flash of color in his eyes when he looked at her picture. I was glad he was the one looking out for her. I went through the apartment turning off all the lights. The moon was low in the sky and giving off a soft but bright glow.

I found myself staring out the picture window. The light from the moon was casting an eerie but somehow beautiful light on the playground and flowers below. I wrapped my arms around myself, fighting off the chill that I had gotten. The cool night air was pushing its way through the seams around the window frame.

When I had gone to lay down earlier, I had changed out of my jeans into a pair of sleep shorts. I kept on my tank top and Jeff's shirt. It made me feel like he was with me. It smelled like his cologne. Since Maggie left, questions started floating around in my head. If I knew just a little bit about Jeff like I thought I did, he would be willing to answer these questions for me tonight. God knows I wanted the answers tonight myself.

I felt a slight change in the atmosphere of the room. I turned away from the window. Jeff was right there. He was wearing the same thing he had been wearing earlier, but it was covered by his leather jacket. He smiled at me as he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it in the loveseat. He walked the few steps between us until he could touch my cheek. It was nothing more than a gentle brush of his fingers against my skin.

"Were you waiting for me, love?"

"Yes." He slipped his arms around me, pulling me into rest against his chest. My arms found their way around his waist. I pressed myself into his warmth. My hands lay flat against his back. His hands were quickly rubbing the heat into my body.

"Did you get some sleep?" Jeff asked me.

"Yes, I got a few hours." I was quiet for a second as I contemplated how to approach the subject. "You _did_ say that I could ask you anything I wanted, right?" I heard him quietly chuckle.

"You can ask me anything that your heart desires."

"Do you sleep?"

"Yes."

"Like a normal…umm…human?"

"Normally, yeah. In a bed, not a coffin or dungeon or crypt if that's what you're thinking."

"I wasn't. I just meant the amount of time. But that's still good to know. Have you ever killed anyone?" He hesitated.

"Do you really want to know this, love?" I nodded. "Yes, I have but it's not something I enjoy doing. I've never killed a human. And there has to be a good reason for it. They were going for me or my family."

"I guess that would be a good reason." I rubbed my cheek against Jeff's chest. This felt so right. Him holding me this way. I knew he wouldn't demand anything from me. He was nothing like the other guys I had dated. Beyond the obvious reasons, he was sweet and caring. Not that I needed it (I didn't think so anyway) but he wanted to take care of me.

My last boyfriend, Brady, tried to pretty much move in. All he wanted was for me to make him dinner and then have sex. He lasted all of two months. Jake, right before Brady, had been so sweet when I met him. He had been so charming that I had slept with him on my second date. Something I normally didn't do. It should have clued me in when I woke up that next morning, he was gone. He did leave me a note saying he would call me and he did, two weeks later. It turned out that I was his woman on the side. He was actually married. I was just sex to him.

Jeff would never be like that with me. Not just because of the things that he told me but I could feel it in the way he held me. I truly was precious to him. Whether or not he loved me, he _did_ care about me in his own way. That was good because I was taking this relationship to the next level tonight.

"What are you thinking, love?" Jeff asked me quietly. I lifted my head off of his chest to look at his face. I smiled at him.

"You and me." He smiled back at me. "Jeff, can I ask you kind of a personal question?"

"Sure, love."

"How many people have you had sex with?" He raised an eyebrow at me like he was surprised that I asked the question.

"If I tell you, will you tell me?" He asked. Fair play.

"Yes, I will."

"Okay. I've been with 15 women." No way!

"This year?" He laughed.

"No, love, ever."

"Wow, that's it? In your whole long life, you've only slept with 15 women?"

"Do you not believe me?" He asked with a smile.

"No, it's not that. I believe you. It's…just…it's…why so few in all the years you've been alive? I thought for sure there would be more."

"Do you want me to be completely honest with you?"

"Please." He sighed.

"Because, Matt and I were raised to believe our kept was something worth waiting for. My dad waited almost 300 years for my mom. He told her everyday of their lives together that she was worth the wait." He slid his hands up and down my back. It was almost like he was reassuring himself that I was really there. "Even though I didn't know who you were and even before you were born, I felt like sleeping with another woman was like cheating on you. You were the one. You _are_ the one. All those other women, they were nothing compared to you." If I wasn't already half in love with Jeff, this did it. I had wanted to be the seducer tonight but Jeff's words were turning me into a puddle of helpless mush at his feet. He was actually seducing me.

"4, I've been with 4 guys." He didn't say anything. "That's not a lot is it? Should I have been a virgin to become your Queen?" He grinned.

"No, love, that's not a lot. I was just thinking these 'guys' must have been shit, otherwise you would be with them right now. Instead of me." That made me smile.

"Trust me Jeff, I'm right where I want to be now. I want to be with you." His mouth turned up in response as he lowered his head. By the time we finally pulled apart, I could barely breathe. My head fell on my shoulder when Jeff started to kiss down my jaw line and around my ear. One hand was on my lower back holding me to him. His other hand had snuck around to my front and was unbuttoning his shirt that I was wearing.

"Jeff, if you bite me, will that turn me?"

"Not unless I almost drain you. Then you'll have to have some of my blood." He said, low, in my ear. The goose bumps danced down my arms from his voice. I felt the shirt fall open when he cleared the last button. He wrapped his arm around my waist, inside the shirt, to pull me up against his body. His other hand went to the back of my neck. He pulled my head to the side, laying hot kisses down the column of my throat to my now exposed collar bone. My hands had found their way under his shirt. This time I got past his abs to his chest. I paused with my hand over his heart. I could feel it pounding under my palm.

"Jeff?" I breathed.

"Yes, love?" His voice rumbled against the top of my bare shoulder, causing a shiver to course through me that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Can I trust you?" He lifted his head to look at me.

"Love, you can trust me with anything."

"I know, but you said that you didn't trust yourself. I just need your promise that you won't drain me or turn me."

"I would never do that without your permission."

"Good." I grabbed the bottom of his wife-beater and slipped it up. He lifted his arms, letting me take it off of him. I tossed it in the love seat with the jacket. I kissed him while I pushed his button-up shirt off my shoulders and threw that into the loveseat as well. I stepped back so that I could look at his face. "Jeff," I grabbed my own tank top and pulled it over my head, "will you make love to me tonight?" Before I could blink, we were in my bedroom. "Did you just…"

"Yes, walking would have taking too long." He picked me up bridal style and walked over to the bed. Jeff laid me down and got in the bed beside me. I rolled to my side to face him. "Are you sure, love?" I placed my hand on his cheek while I kissed him.

"Yes, I'm sure. I've never been so sure about anything in my life." I kissed him again. "I want you, Jeff." He rolled me so that I was on my back and he was half on top of me. I buried my fingers in his hair when he kissed across my collar bone. "Do you need something?" I asked, praying he had brought one with him.

"No, love. I don't have any diseases and I can't get you pregnant. We would have to be trued for that to happen."

"Okay." Was I stupid for believing him? At this point, I didn't care.

Jeff had his hand splayed out across my bare stomach. I could feel his hands slowly making their way up. I moaned and arched off the bed into his hand as he cupped my breast through my bra. He kissed down to the top of my breast through my bra. He slowly made his way across my chest and back up to my mouth. He kissed me while he made quick work of the rest of my clothes. Jeff lifted his head to look at me.

"You are so beautiful, love." My breasts instantly reacted as his palms caressed them again. I closed my eyes and moaned at his touch. He leaned in and kissed my shoulder over and over. I felt the bed shift. I opened my eyes and found him poised over me. I had never seen something so magnificent in my entire life as Jeff, braced on his hands above me. I could barely make out his face since his hair was hanging down. His naked body was washed in the soft moonlight filtering through the window.

"No, Jeff you're beautiful." He grinned.

"No one has ever called me that before." He lowered himself enough so that he could press his lips to the base of my throat. "I don't think I fit that bill like you do, love." Slowly, Jeff lowered his body so that he was pressed full against me. I could barely breathe from the feel of his naked skin pressed against mine. He worked his way from the base of my throat to where my pulse was going crazy. He kissed that spot as he rocked his hips against mine. I cried out at the feel of him pressed intimately against me. He was killing me with his teasing. I laid my hands against his chest. I could feel his heart beating just as wildly as mine. I ran my hands down his chest to his lower stomach. He rocked against me again. I made my way lower. I gently wrapped my hand around him.

"Sophi…" he moaned in my ear as I caressed up and down his length. Jeff thrust himself against my hand as I caressed him again. "Sophi…stop…love, stop." He said through clinched teeth. I kissed his cheek by his ear. I whispered against his ear.

"Why should I?" I caught his ear lobe between my teeth as my hand traveled his length again. He thrust again.

"Cause, love, if you don't, I'll lose it right here." He pulled my hand away. "You're making me half crazed in my need for you. I want this to be perfect not some frenzied hook-up." He kissed me. "We can save those for later." He pressed himself back against me.

"Jeff," I moaned, "ah, God…please…stop teasing me. I need you." He kissed me as he placed a hand on either of my hips. He ran his hand down my right thigh, stopping to cup the back of my knee. I caught on when he lifted my knee. I wrapped my leg over his hip. He rubbed himself against me. I arched my hips to meet his. He paused above me. I could see the sweat collecting on his forehead. He seemed to be trying to control himself.

"Jeff?" He dropped his forehead to my shoulder.

"I want to be gentle with you, but my body is screaming at me just to take you."

"Jeff…"

"I don't want to hurt you, love. I feel like I'm on the verge of losing control. I just need a second." I kissed his ear.

"Do it, Jeff. I won't break. Please." That was all he needed. He took me at my word. Jeff gripped my hips tightly and thrust his entire length into me. I cried out at the feel of him completely deep inside of me.

"Sophi? Love, are you okay?" He panted in my ear. I arched my hips against his, unable to talk. He took that as a yes. He slowly pulled out and thrust back in quickly and hard. Jeff left a hand on my hip and slipped a hand around the back of my neck. He kept repeating the slow out and quick in. I ran my hands up and down his back, feeling his muscles shift and bunch as he steadily picked up his pace.

Jeff fisted his hand in my hair, jerking my head back, giving himself complete access to my throat. He kissed my pulse, all the while, grazing me with his teeth.

I moaned and made small noises encouraging him to move faster and harder. I raggedly drew in breath as I was quickly heading towards the edge. I dug my nails into his back as I got closer and closer.

"Sophi…Love…so close." He stroked his tongue across my pulse.

"Jeff…" I moaned, lifting my hips in time to meet his.

"I have to drink from you, Sophi." I nodded slightly.

"Yes, Jeff. Yes…" He pulled my neck taunt as I danced on the edge of release. He kissed my pulse. I barely felt his breath against my neck an instant before he bit me.

I screamed out his name when I felt his fangs pierce my skin. There was nothing but pleasure as I plummeted over that edge. Every time Jeff drew from my neck, I felt it all over my body. His pace quickened at every pull from my vein.

He raised up from my neck to call out my name as his release hit him. His release caused me to fall over that edge again. Jeff collapsed on top of me as he fought to catch his breath. He laid his face against my shoulder so that he could lazily lick at the wound he had made on my neck.

I laid there, completely unable to move. My legs and arms felt like lead. I couldn't move if I wanted to. Jeff's full body weight felt so delicious. I'm not sure I even wanted to move.

"Love?" Jeff lifted his head so that he could look at me. I rolled my head back to face him. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" I lazily smiled at him.

"No. I'm fine. I'm better than fine." Somehow, I lifted my hand to run my fingers through his hair. "I'm amazing." I kissed him. "You're amazing." I kissed him again. "I love you, Jeff." I told him, laying my heart out there in the open. I wasn't sure that he felt the same way but I just needed him to know how I felt. Jeff rolled over to his side. I rolled on to mine as he tucked himself up behind me.

"Sophi," Jeff whispered, kissing my shoulder, "Sophi, _te iubesc, neîncetat_."

I woke up early before Jeff. I untangled myself from his arms and quietly crawled out of bed. He rolled over to his stomach. I smiled to myself. He deserved to still be sleeping. Jeff and I, for the most part, had made love all night long. Sometime during the night, Jeff had snuck into the living room and grabbed our shirts. I found my underwear in the floor and dug Jeff's button down shirt out of the pile.

Thank God he was still asleep, otherwise I would have never been able to research what Jeff had said to me last night. I booted up my computer and pulled up a translation website. I phonetically sounded out what he had said to me over and over during the night. My eyes widened as I read the translation. I felt those butterflies fighting for position in my stomach. '_Te iubesc, neîncetat_' was Romanian for 'I love you, eternal'.

I shut down my computer and turned to look at Jeff laying in my bed. I stood up and crawled into bed beside him. I wrapped an arm around his waist. I kissed the back of his shoulders.

"Jeff, baby?" He made a noise like he was waking up. "Do you want some breakfast?" I saw him smile as he rolled over. His eyes were Emerald just like they had been all night. I leaned in and pressed a few kisses to his chest. He tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Are you offering, love?" I smiled at him.

"Don't you wish. I meant food. Do you want me to make me you some food?" He grinned and pulled me in for a kiss.

"You don't have to. I can take you out for breakfast."

"Why waste money when I can make you something to eat right here? Plus, I want to, baby." I kissed him again. "You go take a shower and I'll start cooking, okay?" He grinned.

"Okay."

I heard the shower turn off as I flipped the first couple of pieces of French toast. I knew from the many times that Jeff and I had eaten together, he had a pretty hearty appetite. I opened the fridge and leaned in to grab the bacon and some more eggs. I hummed along with the radio that played quietly on top of the fridge.

"That smells delicious, love." Jeff said behind me. I spun around quickly, tossing the eggs in the air. Jeff's movements were a blur as he saved the eggs from certain doom with the floor. He stood up and handed them to me. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you, love." I smiled at him.

"It's okay." I leaned up and kissed him. "That's a pretty cool trick." I kissed him again. "Will you do it for me again sometime?" He laughed quietly.

"Anytime you want, love."

Jeff stood beside me, drinking his coffee and watching me cook. He was wearing just his jeans from last night. I don't know if he did it on purpose just to tease me but when he came in the kitchen, he had zipped up his pants but neglected to button them. I saw his eyes turn Emerald when he noticed me checking him out.

I felt him wrap his arms around my waist from behind as I stood at the stove turning the bacon. I was surprised that Maggie wasn't up yet. Normally, the smell of food woke her up. Jeff moved my hair away from my neck and kissed the spot that he had bitten last night. It made me shiver. The spot was still sensitive. He started kissing at my neck and telling me how sexy I looked in his shirt.

"Not as good as you look in those jeans." I told him.

"Ah," he grazed me with his teeth, "but you look good enough to eat." I took the bacon out of the pan and turned to face him. I smiled.

"Do I now?" I wrapped my arms around his neck. He nodded and leaned in for a kiss.

"Wow, I didn't know I was getting breakfast and a show." Maggie said with a laugh in her voice. I reluctantly pulled away from Jeff to bring the food to the small 4 person table that we had. Jeff had gathered some plates and followed me over to the table.

"You don't get a show Mags."

"Please don't stop on my account. God knows I wouldn't." I laughed at her.

"A bit jealous, Maggie?" She smiled and speared a piece of toast.

"Not anymore."

**I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. I need to know if you guys are still liking it. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=**


	5. Chapter 5

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to xAngelofHardyx, RoseanneMay, Lady-Sony, Sinfully Sined, Ms. Chandy and littleone999. You guys rock!!! Enjoy!**

The next 5 or 6 months went by pretty quickly. Jeff and I spent more and more time together. So did Maggie and Randy. They were getting pretty close. I got to have dinner with Jeff and Matt, alone. Matt spent the whole night, sitting in Jeff's dinning room, telling me stories of his and Jeff's childhood, trying his best to embarrass Jeff. The story where Jeff ended up naked in the middle of a cow pasture was the one that finally did the trick. Later that night, while we were laying in bed, I told him about my Grandmother.

She had been the one to raise me and Maggie when our parents had died. They had died just a few months apart from each other. I had been 8 and Maggie was 10. Our Grandma took us in and raised us. She was the one that my parents had named me after. Well, Maggie's parents too. Her name was Sophie Margarette. Maggie hates it when people called her Margarette. She had been the one to give me my first book about vampires. Those first few months with out my parents, I had trouble sleeping. She used to come to my room and tell me stories. Grandma had emigrated to the U.S. from Hungary when she was a teenager. She used to tell me stories and legends of vampires. A normal kid would have been scared of these stories, but me, I was fascinated. After the first one, I was hooked. Yeah, Maggie liked the stories but I was the one that became obsessed. It eventually led to the stuff I studied in college and my job at the paper. Ultimately, leading me to Jeff, my very own vampire. I wonder how Grandma would react if she knew that I was in love with a vampire and possibly going to become one in the future. Knowing her, she would love it.

Jeff started to take extra precautions to make sure that I wasn't in the spotlight him. We rarely went out in public together. He had gotten word that Taker was upping up the search for me. The day he found out, I was at work. I was working on a story about this woman who claimed that her dog could see spirits. (Yeah, that's the kind of stories I wrote.) I was typing up my draft to show Chef. John was sitting at his desk, talking on the phone. He lightly kicked the side of my desk to get my attention. I looked up form my laptop. He held up a piece of paper asking me where I wanted to go for lunch. I mouthed for him to pick. I heard someone a few desk over snicker. I had been hearing the rumors for awhile. People thought that John and I were 'together'. I could see where they might think that. We always went to lunch together. We arrived at work together and we left work together. They had not clue that he was actually my guard.

John's talking was kind of like the radio for me. It blocked out all the outside noise of the room and helped me focus on work. I was almost finished when I noticed that john stopped talking mid-word. I also noticed that the whole room had gone quiet as well.

I looked up and saw why. Jeff had walked through the double doors leading into the room. He was making a beeline for my desk. He looked upset. I could hear whispers around me. _'Isn't that Jeffery Hardy?'_; _'Doesn't he own the paper?'_; _'I wonder why he's here?'_;_ 'Do you think he's here to fire someone?'_ I was wondering why he was here myself. He didn't look anywhere else but at me. I was still staring at him when he stopped in front of my desk.

"Ms. Laurell?" Oh yeah, we were keeping our distance publicly, less attention that way. I nodded. He motioned to one of the empty offices at the back of the room. "Can I speak to you privately for a moment?" I stood up and pushed my chair back under my desk.

"Yes sir." I followed him to the office. He held open the door and let me walk in first. The office had one of those pre-fab desk/work area in it. There was nothing in the office but the desk. Jeff shut the door and locked it behind himself. We could see everyone in the room staring at us as Jeff pulled the shades closed. I sat down on the top of the desk, letting my legs swing lightly.

"Jeff, what's wrong?" He walked over to me. "I thought you said…" He abruptly cut off my words by kissing me. He pulled back to stroke my cheek with the back of his fingers. "…we were supposed to keep our distance in public." He smiled slightly.

"I did. I'm sorry, love." He kissed me again. "It's just…I got word today that he's upped the stakes." He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in to lay my head against his chest. I laid my cheek against his heart. Jeff trailed his fingers through my hair while I rubbed his back, trying to make him feel better.

"Who, baby? Taker?" I asked.

"Yeah. He…he brought that fuckin' werewolf here." I lifted my head to look at his face.

"Werewolf? Like Lon Cheney? Like a person that turns into a wolf at the full moon, werewolf?" He nodded. "Are you serious? They're real too?"

"Yes, they are, love. Unfortunately. This one's particularly nasty. I have a personal beef as well." His eyes went black. I lifted my hand to touch his hair.

"What happened, baby?" I asked him quietly.

"That bastard, Adam…he's the one that killed my mom. He tore her throat out in front of my dad. Then, when she was week…he tore out her heart."

"Oh, Jeff." He laid a hand on both of my cheeks.

"I need you to stay away from him. If you ever hear the name Adam, run. Get the hell away."

"Jeff…"

"Love, listen to me. Taker brought Adam here to kill you. If anyone can find you, he can. Sophi, I can't lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise, I'll run. I don't want to be lost." I said quietly against his chest. He kissed the top of my head.

"Come home with me, Sophi. We'll spend the rest of the day alone and then I'll bring you back to work tomorrow. I just need you with me today."

"Jeff, I want to but I can't. I have to finish my article. Even thought no one but Chef and I read them, I still want to get it into the paper. I lifted my head to look at him. "I really do like my job. I kinda want to keep it." He kissed my forehead.

"Love, I don't want to quit your job. I, for one, enjoy your articles. You're an amazing writer, Sophi." He helped me off the desk. "Plus, I kinda have an in with the guy that owns the paper. I think he can cut you a break for the day off." I smiled at him.

"Do you think so? I heard he's a bit of a hard ass." Jeff got a wicked gleam in his eyes as they flashed Emerald.

"Do you want to know what he thinks about you ass?" I hit him with my own wicked grin.

"I was kinda hoping, may be later, he would show me."

Jeff went to talk to Matt while I gathered my things for the day. I wrote John a note, letting him know what was going on and dropped it on his desk as I left. I met Jeff downstairs in front of the building. I knew people watched me climb into that sleek, shiny black car and drive off. New rumors started to fly when that same car dropped me off the next morning. At least these rumors got the boyfriend right. But now they were saying that was how I got my job. Ha, that was funny. If I was sleeping with Jeff for a job, I'd be writing front page articles, everyday. Hell, I might even have Chef's job.

Late, one Saturday afternoon, John and I were hanging out at Starlight. We went down there for an early dinner. We sat in Maggie's section, of course. The diner was pretty quiet tonight. It was Maggie and Crystal waiting on customers and Pops, who ran the diner, in the kitchen. There was one other table and it was Mary and her son Dylan. They were regulars. They came in all the time. Yeah, they were quiet tonight. Jeff had something come up at the hotel so he had been over there most of the day. I was going to meet him in a few hours at my place.

I looked up from the menu when I heard the door jingle, indicating someone opened the door. I watched Randy walk in the door. He headed straight our table.

"Here comes Randy." I told John. "Now we get to watch him and Maggie kiss all night." John made a face.

"Yeah, it's kinda like you and Jeff make-out all the time."

"We do not make-out _all_ the time. Just…part of the time. Don't be so jealous, John. I'm sure you can find some willing donor to bide you time with." I told him with a smile.

"Ha ha, very funny Sophi." He leaned forward on his forearms. "You know, if you weren't gonna be Queen, I'd…"

"You threatening the Queen, Johnny Boy?" Randy asked, sliding into the seat next to me. He nudged me lightly with his elbow. "Don't worry Sophi. I got your back." I smiled at him. I turned to stick my tongue out at John who stuck his out in return. We all turned to the end of the table as Maggie walked up.

"Hey guys." She said to me and John. Then she smiled at Randy. "Hey."

"Hey baby." He leaned up (as she leaned down) and kissed her. She slid into the eat beside John.

"So, what do you guys want to eat?" We gave her our orders.

"Mag, why don't you put in an order for yourself and eat with us." She waved me off.

"Not right now. Let me go put your order in."

John, Randy and I sat there talking while we waited on our food. Finally, Maggie came back with our plates. She passed them out and sat back down beside John. She just jumped in our conversation. I smacked at her hand as she kept grabbing fries off my plate.

"Go get some food for yourself and stop eating my fries, damn it." I told her. She grabbed another fry.

"But yours always taste better." She got up as Mary and Dylan were leaving. "Bye you two." They waved at Maggie. "Hey Dylan." She called out to them, stopping them at the door. "You forgot your sucker, sweetie. She reached into the jar by the register and pulled out the last sucker. He walked over to her and gave her a hug to thank her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, kiddo." Dylan turned and waved at us. Of course, we all waved back. Maggie noticed that the jar was empty. She walked over to grab the stepstool. She pulled it out of it's hiding place and drug it over to the storage area behind and above the register. I noticed Randy had stopped eating and was watching her intently. Maggie climbed to the top step. She reached above her head to grab the box of suckers on the top shelf. I heard Randy make a quiet noise as Maggie leaned over, at her hips, and set the box down on the counter. The motion pulled her jeans tight across her butt.

"Damn." John said. He had also noticed Randy's direction of attention. Randy smiled.

"I know. Would you believe that it looks just as good out of those jeans?"

"Come on, guys! I _so_ don't want to hear you talk about Maggie's ass." John and Randy both laughed at me.

"Would you rather we talk about _your_ ass?" John asked. I pointed at John with my French fry.

"Only if, when Maggie comes back, I can talk about how hot Jeff's ass is." They both made an unhappy face. John held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, we give. No more 'ass' talk." I smiled, eating my fry. Maggie eventually came back over with a big basket of fries. She sat them down in the center of the table and plopped back down beside John. I started to zone out on the conversation. I was wondering where Jeff was, right now. Was he thinking about me too?

"Great." Maggie said when the door jingled. I looked up and saw a group of 4 guys walk in the door. I felt Randy's whole body stiffen beside me. "These guys are so annoying." Maggie said. I noticed that John had gone stock still in front of me. He was staring over my head at the reflection in the window. This wasn't good." These guys come in here all the time. See that really tall one with the shaved head? He never talks. I think I've heard the other's call him Kane. He kinda scares me." I could totally see why. "The other one, with the short blonde hair, that's Jay. I don't mind him so much. He comes in by himself sometimes and isn't as rude as he is when he's with them. Oh, and then there's Adam. He's the one with the longer blonde hair." My ears perked up. Maggie shivered. "He really creeps me out. He just stares at every woman like they're something to eat." Oh, crap. Was this the Adam that Jeff had been telling me about? "Then we come to the asshole in the hat. 'Just call me Miz, sexy.'" She lowered her voice to imitate him. "I can tell you exactly what he's gonna do…" She proceeded to tell us, step by step, exactly what he did.

Miz stood up, readjusted his hat and scanned the diner, looking for Maggie. When he found her sitting at our table, he smiled. He dug in his pocket and pulled out what looked like a quarter. Then he smacked Adam on the shoulder. He asked him for quarters. Adam grumbled something and handed him a handful of change. He made his way over to the older jukebox in the corner. He flipped through the song till he found the one he was looking for.

He fed what looked like 4 or 5 quarters in the jukebox and hit the same sequence of numbers again and again. He strutted back to his seat. I saw Maggie grit her teeth as Rod Stewart's 'Maggie Mae' started playing. She stood up.

"God, I hate J-10." She walked over to their table to take their order. We overheard everything. "What'll you guys have tonight?" She asked. I saw the one called Kane point to something on the menu. She nodded and wrote it down. Jay ordered the club sandwich. Adam ordered the steak, rare. Then there was Miz. "What would you like?" She asked him without looking up from her pad.

"How about me, you and a little alone time in the back office?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"I keep telling you 'no'. I have a boyfriend."

"So what Sexy? That never stopped anyone before. It's not like he's here or anything. You know you want a little of the Miz." She rolled her eyes. Randy's hand was clinched so tight on the table, his hand was vibrating. I laid my hand over his, trying to calm him down. His eyes were black. He was seconds from getting out of his seat and hurting someone. I whispered for him to calm down. He nodded and took a couple deep breaths.

"Actually," Maggie started, "my boyfriend is sitting right over there." She pointed to our table. Miz glanced at our table. He grinned and scoffed.

"Whatever you say. How about you give me whatever that pretty little brunette is eating." He nodded his head towards me.

"Fine." She walked back over to our table. "See what I mean." She shook her head and went back to place their order. I saw that Randy and John had stopped eating.

"Okay, who are those guys?" I asked. They looked at each other and then at me.

"They're Taker's men." John said quietly. "And they know who we are." Oh shit! That _was_ the Adam I was supposed to staying away from. Now, I was kinda scared. I knew there was a threat but I never actually accepted it until they were sitting a couple of booths away. Maggie walked back by with their drinks. She was about set down Miz's drink (the last one), when he grabbed her butt. If may hand wasn't on his arm, Randy would have launched himself out of the booth. Maggie slammed Miz's drink down.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to touch me?" Maggie said to him. "I'll have you kicked out of here and banned from ever coming back."

"Come on Maggie Mae. We both know you don't have the power to do that."

"Really? I may not have the power, but I personally know someone that does."

"Oh shit!" John said under his breath. I had a bad feeling I knew what was about to happen.

"Maggie?" Randy called out, trying to get her attention. She turned to him, only to have Miz grab her arm and turn her back to him.

"And who would that be Sexy?" She turned and pointed at me.

"You see that 'pretty little brunette over there?"

"Maggie?" Randy called. She didn't stop.

"She's dating the owner of this place. Do you know who Jeffery Hardy is?" Their entire table froze.

"What does he have to do with anything?" Miz asked.

"Maggie! I need you!" Randy called out to her again. She turned, only to be yanked back by Miz.

"What does he have to do with anything?" Miz asked her again, dragging out every word.

"Sophi's been dating him for almost a year." As one, the entire table turned to look at me. John tried as best as he could to block me with his body, but the damage had been done. I had been exposed.

"Time to go." John said quietly to me. Randy nodded.

"I'll distract them. You get Sophi out of here. I'll meet you back at the apartment." Randy stood up and walked over to the juke box. It was still playing that damn song. I slid out of the booth. John was right there, blocking me from them. He started pushing me towards the back. The music abruptly stopped. I caught a glimpse of Randy pulling his bloody hand out of the center of the jukebox. As soon as John and I cleared the swinging door to the back, he pulled out his phone and dialed. Two seconds later, someone answered.

"Jeff, its John. We got a problem." He held out a hand to me. I took it and then we were in my apartment. "We were found out." He paused. "No, she's okay. We vanished to her apartment." Pause. "Okay." He flipped the phone closed.

"John, what's going on? Where is Maggie? What did Jeff say?" I was getting a little scared. He put a hand on my shoulder.

"Calm down, Sophi. It's okay. Maggie is coming with Randy. And Jeff is on his way." I blew out a breath, trying to calm down.

"Okay." I felt that atmosphere change and turned to find Jeff standing there. He rushed over to me, instantly enclosing me in his arms.

"Love, are you okay?" I nodded against his chest.

"I'm okay, Jeff." He kissed the top of my head.

"What happened?" Jeff asked John. He gave Jeff a quick rundown of what happened at the diner and what Maggie told them. I felt Jeff's arms tense up around me when John told him that Maggie pointed me out specifically.

"I'm sorry, Jeff. I failed you. I'll understand if you need to punish me." John bowed his head.

"John…" Jeff started. I pushed back from him.

"No, Jeff. You can't punish him. He didn't do anything wrong. I don't want anyone punished because of me. Please, Jeff." He kissed my forehead, pulling me back to him.

"I'm not going to, love. It's not his fault. It's mine." I looked up at him.

"Yours?" He nodded.

"Both you and Randy have been asking me for permission to tell her. This is my fault for telling you 'no'. When Maggie and Randy get here, we'll tell her everything." I laid my head back on his chest. A few seconds later, we heard Maggie and Randy coming up the hall. Maggie was upset that Randy had just drug her away from work.

"Randy, I could lose my job for this." She told him, working the key in the lock.

"You won't lose your job, baby. I promise." She pushed open the door.

"I hope you're…shit!" She turned and noticed the three of us standing there. "What the hell? How did you two get here so fast? Randy practically ran me down here."

"Randy, Maggie, come in and shut the door." Jeff's voice took on that authoritative tone. Was it weird that I thought it was hot? Randy nudged Maggie further into the apartment and shut the door. Randy walked over to Jeff and bowed his head.

"Jeff, I'm sorry. I take full responsibility for what happened. Please don't blame Maggie, she didn't know."

"Randy," Jeff placed a hand on his shoulder, "it's okay. No one's in trouble. We need to tell her." Randy nodded.

"Maggie," I said, "you should sit down." Jeff walked me over to one corner of the couch. He sat down, pulling me down beside him. He wrapped his arm around me, rubbing my shoulder lightly. I leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Umm…okay." She walked over and sat in the armchair opposite of me and Jeff. She looked a little nervous. John stayed back by the door.

"Randy, go ahead." Jeff said, motioning with his free hand for him to proceed. He nodded.

"Maggie, I…" Randy started pacing. "I've been wanting…" He blew out a breath. He ran his hand through what little hair he had. (Its cut pretty short.) "It's just that…"

"Randy, you're starting to scare me." Maggie said quietly. She had started to twist her hands together, a sure sign that she was nervous and heading into scared.

"Randy," I said, getting his attention, "just tell her."

"Okay." He walked over and knelt in front of her. He took both of her hands in his. He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. "Baby…I'm a vampire." Her eyes narrowed.

"Randy, that's what you wanted to tell me? Are you shitting me? You pulled me away from my job, that I'm probably going to get fired from, and brought me here for some joke. This is redicu…"

"Maggie, baby, this isn't a joke. I really _am_ a vampire. John's one. And Jeff," he nodded his head back towards where Jeff and I were sitting on the couch, "is too. Jeff is actually the King of the city. Sophi is destined to become our Queen." He went on to explain everything. Just like Jeff explained everything to me. You know, the whole born that way, the concept of a kept and becoming trued, the not drinking blood from a person and only biting their kept, their speed, strength and the ability to heal quickly. He also told her about the vanishing.

She just sat there, silently listening to everything Randy told her. When he finished, she just smiled, right before she started laughing quietly.

"How could I be so stupid?" Maggie lifted her hand and rubbed Randy's cheek. He leaned his face into her hand. "I knew you were too good to be true. I understand that I was just a plaything to you. You could have just broken up with me instead of coming up with this whole elaborate story. I'm a big girl, I could have taken it."

"Baby, it's not like that." She smiled at him and dropped her hand.

"Really? You're not gonna break into that whole, 'I really do care about you and it's not you, it's me' thing are you? I don't need it."

"Baby, I'm not breaking up with you. I don't know how to be anymore honest with you. I'm telling you the truth. Ask anyone in this room. They all know the truth too. Please, this is important for you to believe me." She looked around at us.

"I don't need to. I know John and Jeff will back you up cause they're your friends."

"Ask Sophi." He was almost pleading with her.

"Fine. Sophi, do you believe any of this?"

"Maggie, he's telling you the truth. They really are vampires." Maggie laughed and shook her head.

"What was I thinking asking you? You've been obsessed with anything like that since you were 8 years old. Of course, you would jump at any opportunity to believe something like this." I sighed.

"Randy, take her into her room and show her. Do the eyes and the vanishing thing." I told him. He nodded and stood up. He held out his hand to her.

"Wow. You're just gonna do it because she said so?"

"She's going to be my Queen. I'm not stupid. You never upset the Queen." That made me smile to myself. Maggie rolled her eyes. She took his hand.

"Okay, let's get this over with." Randy pulled her up from the chair and led her back to her room. He shut the door. But, you know how the walls are in apartments. We heard every word, slightly muffled. "So, what do you have to show me Randy? Do you have a set of those snap on fangs? They really are kinda convincing. I bought Sophi a pair a couple of years ago. She used to wear them around the apartment and scare the crap out of me." That brought a quiet laugh from John and Jeff. Jeff leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"Do you still have them?" He whispered in my ear. I nodded. "It would be so damn sexy to see you with fangs, love." He kissed my ear. He pulled back to smile at the blush forming on my cheeks. He kissed my nose and relaxed back in the couch, taking me with him. I only saw Jeff's fangs right before he bit me. Never any other time.

"No, I'm not going to show you my fangs. My eyes, they change color with my emotions."

"Okay." Maggie said, totally devoid of any emotions.

"I need you to touch me Maggie." She let out a burst of a laugh. Just one loud 'ha'.

"You're breaking up with me and you want one last quickie before you go? No way." Randy sighed.

"Maggie, please. Just touch me like you did last night."

"Oh, you mean like when we were having sex?" She said sarcastically.

"No, baby. When we were making love. You're more than just sex to me. You have to know that. Please, just, wrap your arms around my neck or anything to bring your body close to mine." He was quiet for a bit. "Please baby." Randy said quietly.

"Okay, okay." They were quiet again for a few seconds. "Holy shit!" We heard something hit the wall. I found out later, that was Maggie backing herself into the wall. "How the hell did you do that?"

"I told you, they change with my emotions. They get like this around you. They turn black when I'm angry or upset."

"Oh."

"Tell me a place that you've always wanted to go. Some place you could never get to but always wanted to go to."

"Umm…Rome. I've always wanted to go but I couldn't afford to go."

"Okay. Wait right here." I heard her sharp intake of breath. He must have vanished.

"Oh my God!" We heard that sound against the wall again. "Oh my God, Randy. What was that? Where did you go?"

"I went to Rome for you. Jeff told me that the paper thing worked for Sophi, so…here."

"What is this?"

"It's tomorrows paper from Rome."

"This is written in Italian. Where did you get this?"

"From Rome, Maggie." The door to her bedroom flew open and she came running out causing Jeff and I to sit straight up.

"Okay, how the hell did you pull this off?" She threw the paper down in front of Jeff. "I know you have more money then anyone in this city but what I don't know is why you picked me to screw with."

"Maggie…" I tried to stop her.

"I don't want to hear it Sophi. I'm sure you just want to defend your boyfriend." She held up her hand.

"Maggie, stop!" She looked at me for the first time since running back into the room. I stood up with Jeff right behind me. "Listen to me. None of what you heard tonight is a lie. Come on, Mags. You know me. I'm the most skeptical person you know. Sure, I read all those books and love anything related to the legends but you and I both know, I never believe a damn thing in those legends and stories. Believe me when I tell you this, vampires are real." I felt Jeff take my hand and intertwine our fingers. "Trust me, not all of them are evil like they want you to believe." Maggie just stared at me for a second. I saw it on her face the second she let everything sink in and realized that I was telling the truth.

"Oh my God." Maggie said quietly to herself. Randy, who had come in behind her, went to touch her arm.

"Baby…" Maggie pulled back out of his reach.

"No, please don't." I saw Randy's face fall momentarily as he dropped his hand. She wrapped her arms around herself. John spoke up.

"Jeff, if you don't need me, I'm gonna head out." Jeff nodded.

"You're good. Hey, thanks." He told John.

"No problem." He winked at me. Then he vanished. I heard Maggie suck in her breath again.

"Maggie," Jeff said, taking a step towards her. She instinctively step backed from him. "I know I can't tell you what to do but I suggest that you and Randy get this out of the way." He paused. I stepped in front of him, stopping him from scaring Maggie anymore. Jeff looked down at me. I laid my hand against his chest.

"Let me try, okay?" He lifted my hand, kissing my palm, then cupped it to his cheek.

"Okay love. Just she needs to know…" I put my thumb on his lips, stalling his speech.

"I got this." He bowed his head to me.

"Okay love." He let go of my hand and I turned back to face Maggie.

"Maggie, Jeff and I are going to spend the night at his place. Why don't you and Randy stay here? Randy will explain everything. You can ask him anything and he'll tell you what's going on." Maggie hugged herself a little tighter and looked at the floor. I could tell she was nervous to be alone with Randy. "Mags," I touched her arm, making her look at me, "Jeff and me are gonna go in my room and get a few things okay?" Maggie nodded but didn't look at Randy. I grabbed Jeff's hand, walking past Randy. "Convince her to let you stay." I whispered to him. He nodded. Jeff let me pull him into room. I shut the door.

"What did you need from in here, love?" Jeff asked. I waved him down.

"Shh…" I leaned in to the door. "I can't hear." I whispered to him. Jeff stepped up behind me, pressing his body up against mine. He placed a hand on either side of my head, caging me in.

"I can hear everything. I can hear Maggie breathing." He leaned in. I felt his breath on my neck. "I can hear your heartbeat." He kissed the side of my throat. "It's beating faster now, love."

"Jeff," I breathed, "baby, stop distracting me. I want to hear." He kissed again.

"Okay, love. Later." I nodded.

"Yes, later." I agreed as I heard Randy speak up.

"Maggie, I'm sorry I had to tell you this way. I don't want you feel…"

"Randy, I don't think this is going to work." Maggie said quietly. "You don't have to explain anything else to me. Don't worry, I won't say anything to anyone. I'll keep your secret."

"Baby, that's not what I meant." I heard the sound of shuffling clothes. "Baby, please don't walk away from me. I won't touch you. I swear I won't hurt you, baby. The thought of you hurt…" He paused for a second. "Maggie, I know you feel uncomfortable with me here now, but if you let me just stay...I will sleep on the couch. I have more things to tell you and...I just need to make sure that you're safe tonight."

"Why?" Maggie asked him.

"Because, baby, you're my kept." Randy told her.

"Me?" She seemed genuinely confused as to what he was telling her. I could barely hear Randy sigh. Jeff had started to kiss around my ear. As much as I wanted to hear what was happening in the other room, I was having a hard time focusing with Jeff so close to me. I lifted an arm up behind my head to run my fingers through Jeff's hair as Randy continued on.

"Do you see how Jeff is around Sophi?" Maggie must have nodded, cause Randy kept going. "She's everything to him. That's what you are to me. It would kill me to, but if you ask me to I'll leave."

"Randy," she stopped for a moment, "I feel like I should be hauling ass in the opposite direction from you right now but for some reason, I can't. What is it about you? I feel draw to you."

"You can feel the connection between us can't you baby?"

"That must be it cause right now, even after everything you just told me...I still want to be with you."

"That's good baby."

"Randy, will you do something for me?"

"Yes, baby. I'll do anything. What do you want me to do?"

"Stay."

**I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. I need to know if you guys are still liking it. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=**


	6. Chapter 6

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to xAngelofHardyx, RoseanneMay, Lady-Sony and Ms. Chandy. You guys rock!!! There's a little bit of drama it this chapter! Enjoy!**

Jeff and I vanished a few minutes later. Randy called and told us later that night that he told Maggie everything about what was going on. Randy said that Maggie insisted that she have an 'audience' (her words) with the King.

The next afternoon, I called and let her know that we were coming over. We vanished into my room and walked into the living room where Randy and Maggie were waiting. I walked over to her, hugging her tightly.

"Are you better today?" I asked her. She pulled away and nodded. It was not like Maggie to not hug me back. I pulled away and looked at her. She was nervous. She kept looking at the floor instead of looking at me. I stepped away from her. Jeff wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to his side. I saw Randy step up to her and touch her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a half-hearted smile. At least it wasn't Randy that she was nervous of. She turned back to glance at me and Jeff. She took a couple of steps away from Randy and dropped to her knees in front of Jeff and I. She dropped her head.

"Please forgive me, your highness. I'm so sorry that I told the enemy who your Queen was. I had no idea who they were. I am completely responsible for what happened, no one else."

"Maggie, baby, what are you doing?" Randy asked. He stepped up and knelt down beside her.

"I'm begging for forgiveness from the King." She pushed at his unmoving chest, trying to get him to back away. "Stand up so you don't get in trouble too."

"But Maggie…" She shot him a pleading look.

"Please Randy." He stood up and stepped away. I looked down at Maggie and then at Jeff. Was this how the whole 'court' thing worked? That was another negative mark against me being Queen. I had no clue what to do. I watched a smile pull at the edges of Jeff's mouth. He glanced at me and removed his arm from around my waist. He knelt down in front of Maggie. He lifted his hand to me. I instantly took it. It was weird. The more we were together, the harder it was for us to be in the same room and not touch each other. We had to make at least some small contact.

"Maggie?" She jumped, not realizing that Jeff was that close to her.

"Yes, sir?" He looked up at me and Randy and smiled.

"Maggie, you don't have to call me that. You don't have to go on your knees before me and beg for forgiveness. I'm not your King. Please stand up." Jeff stood back up. She quickly followed.

"You are the King of the city, right? That's what Randy told me last night." She looked back at Randy.

"Yes, I am, but…you're not a vampire. I'm not your King." He laughed quietly. "I think you've been watching to many old movies." She smiled back at him.

"Oh. Maybe you're right. I'm still sorry." He patted her shoulder.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. How could you keep a secret that you didn't know you were supposed to keep?"

"So, you aren't mad at me?" She asked timidly. He laughed again.

"No, I'm not. How could I be? Sophi would kill me if I was mad at you." He leaned in and mock whispered to her. "Even I'm not stupid enough to piss off the Queen."

It was a good two weeks before Maggie was back to her old self around everyone. She also confided in me that she let Randy bite her.

"So, how was it?" I asked her. We were sitting in the diner one day. John and Randy were sitting a few booths away. She got a huge smile on her face.

"It was amazing. I can't believe I waited so long to let him do it." She lowered her voice a little. "So, have you ever let Jeff?" I smiled. I could feel the blush working up my cheeks. I unconsciously rubbed my neck on the sensitive spot that Jeff had bitten earlier that morning.

"Maybe…" Maggie laughed.

"So, how long did you make him wait?"

"Not too long. Umm…I let him do it the first time we were together." Maggie looked at me shocked. "What? He had just told me that he was 'one'. Hell, I had already made him wait four months just to sleep with me and at the time, it's not like I could really say 'no'." She grinned.

"So, how was it?" I rubbed that spot on my neck again.

"Let's just say, I'm normally not a screamer." I've never heard Maggie laugh so hard in my life.

The weeks flew by pretty quickly. Since that night in the dinner, no one had seen or heard from Taker's men. We had gotten word (Jeff had started including me in that 'we'. He told me everything he found out now.) that Taker's men never went out before sunset. Something about keeping with legends and it helped with the whole scare factor. Just for precaution, I opted to stop going in to the paper. I worked off of my laptop. I stayed with Jeff pretty much 24/7. When I wasn't with him, John was right there. If I went out somewhere, John went with me. Jeff told me that he didn't want to take chances with anything. Jeff and I talked more and more about me becoming a vampire. Oddly enough, it wasn't Jeff pushing the conversations, it was me. I was still nervous and scared but the more time I spent with Jeff, the more I wanted to be with him forever.

Jeff and I were spending the day at my apartment. I had been sitting on the couch doing some research on rats. I had a story about giant rats outside of the city that were killing local pets. Fun stuff. Jeff had all kinds of paperwork and files spread out on the kitchen table. He was currently writing something on a legal pad. I watched him run his fingers through his hair, frustrated at the fact that something wasn't working out the way he wanted it to. I sat my computer on the coffee table. I lifted my arms above my head to stretch my stiff back. I had been hunched over my computer all afternoon. Just when I got into full stretch, my stomach rumbled loudly. I saw Jeff lift his head and smile at me.

"A little hungry, love?" He asked. I nodded.

"I must be." I stood up and walked over to where he was sitting. He tossed his pen on the table and scooted his chair back away from the table. I straddled his lap and draped my arms around his neck. His hands went to my lower back, holding me in place. "How about you?" I kissed him lightly. "Are you hungry?" He grinned.

"I'm always hungry, love." I laughed and kissed him again.

"I know you are. I was talking about food this time." He made a face pretending like he understood. "What if you and I go down to the diner, grab something to eat," I pressed myself into his chest and kissed his chin, "then come back here and work it off?"

"Hmm," pretending to think about what I said, "that sounds…" His phone rang, interrupting him. He picked it up off the table and looked at the ID. "I have to take this, love." I nodded and made a move to get off his lap. His arms tightened. "No, stay." I nodded again and laid my head against his shoulder. I could hear the person on the other end talking frantically. Jeff ran his free hand slowly up and down my back. His hand eventually ended up on the back of my neck, under my hair, stroking my hairline with his thumb. I sighed contently and settled into him even more. After a couple of minutes, Jeff stopped the call. "Bob, I'll call you back in a minute, okay?" He waited for a response and hung up the phone. I sat up. "Why don't you run down to the diner and grab us something to eat and bring it back here? I'll clear off the table enough so we can eat while I finish my call. Then I'll make sure you have me all to yourself for the rest of the evening. Okay, love?" I smiled.

"Okay." He kissed my nose and let me stand up. He dialed John.

"It's Jeff. I need you to go with Sophi to Starlight." He waited for his answer. "Okay."

"On his way?" I asked when Jeff hung up. He nodded and pulled me down for another kiss.

"Can't wait till you get back, love." Jeff said against my lips.

"I won't be long." I said against his.

"Good, I have plans for you tonight."

"Really?" I was about to ask him what they were when we heard John clear his throat. I turned my head to look at him only to have Jeff kiss my cheek by my ear.

"I told you. You two make-out all the damn time." John said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He's just jealous." Jeff whispered in my ear. He kissed my ear and let me go. I walked over to John and hugged him.

"Don't be like that Johnny." He rolled his eyes at the hated nickname. "Come on, I'll buy you a late lunch."

John and I actually walked down to the diner. It was a little overcast but still a pretty day. We had about an hour before sunset. I wasn't too worried, we should be back way before then. John and I walked into the diner and saw Maggie ringing someone out at the register. She smiled at us and nodded towards the counter. We went and took a seat. A second later, Maggie walked over. We gave her our order and she brought us a basket of fries and something to drink.

"Mind if I share?" I looked over at Randy as he slid on to the stool beside me. I smiled and pushed the basket of fries closer to him. We settled into a pleasant conversation about nothing. A half an hour later, Maggie was sitting our bag on the counter. We told her and Randy good-bye. John's phone rang as he pushed the door open.

"It's Chef. Let me take this really quick and then we'll walk back."

"Okay." I stepped away from John to give him some privacy. I leaned against the brick wall beyond the front window. John smiled and made a face at me while he listened to Matt talk. I laughed at him. He let the smile fade from his face as his look became serious. That made me stand up off the wall. I had this odd sensation that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

John took a step towards me. I watched his eyes get big an instant before they rolled back in his head. He crumbled to the ground, revealing Miz standing behind him. I took a step back as Miz took a step towards me. I got no more than that one step before I backed into a wall of muscle. I opened my mouth to scream but before I could make a sound, a hand clamped over my mouth preventing me. His other arm hooked around my waist holding me against him. He easily lifted me off the ground as I started to fight his hold. His hold only got tighter. Miz was steadily walking closer. The closer he got, the harder I fought.

"Stop fighting me, pet. It only excites me." I froze. It was Adam's voice in my ear. I remember it from that night in the diner. He emphasized his words by grinding himself against my butt. "I can see why the vampire has a thing for you." He sniffed at my nape. "You smell good enough to eat. Even though I can smell that vampire all over you, I'm gonna enjoy tasting you." That brought the fight back. I twisted and kicked with everything I had. I would have used my arms but Adam had pinned them to my side when he grabbed me.

"She's a little hell cat, isn't she?" Miz said. He reached out and touched my face. I tried to jerk my head away but Adam had a pretty good hold on it. I kicked him as hard as I could in the shin. He grabbed the spot. "You bitch! You're gonna pay for that.' He jerked his head to the side. "Take her in the alley." I went crazy again, trying to twist out of Adam's hold as he started walking backwards. He turned the corner into the small alley that was between the diner and the old hardware store next to it. The alley was just big enough for one dumpster which both places used. There were used boxes and crates littering the alley as well. Adam abruptly tossed me to the dirty, wet ground. Before I could move, he was on the ground kneeling above my head, pinning my hands to the ground over my head and clamping his hand over my mouth again. Miz crouch at my feet. This time he was smart enough to grab my ankles.

"You think it's funny to kick me?" He ran his free hand up the front of my leg from my shin to mid-thigh and then back to my shin. He grinned at me. "Try and kick me now." He lifted his hand so that I could see him make a fist. He slammed his hand straight back down. I screamed behind Adam's hand as the bones in my lower leg shattered under his hit. I felt tears come to my eyes at the intense pain.

"Aww, look." Miz said mockingly. "She cries." He got in my face. He grabbed my t-shirt, with a hand on either side of the collar and ripped it right down the center. "Tears aren't going to stop what's going to happen to you." Before I could process what was happening, Miz grabbed me by my upper arms, jerked me up off the ground and threw me into the side of the dumpster. My back making contact, knocked the wind out of me effectively stopping my ability to scream. The back of my head making contact, made me see stars. I didn't even have a chance to hit the ground before I was grabbed and again thrown into the side of the dumpster. I felt the crunching and tearing pain as my shoulder took the brunt of the hit. The side of my head bounced off the side. I felt the blood start to run into my eye from the cut above my eyebrow. I slumped to the ground with a destroyed shoulder that left my right arm completely useless. I was picked up by what was left of my t-shirt and tossed into the center of the alley on my side. Someone's foot kicked me, rolling me onto my back. I sucked in air as much as I could, trying to get enough to scream. Adam's face appeared before mine, blocking out the sky. His grin was far from friendly.

"How do you like our game so far, pet?" He ripped the remains of my t-shirt off my shoulder. I felt every one of his teeth sink into my upper arm as Miz continued on with the beating. Adam's bite felt nothing like Jeff's. Jeff. I tried to focus my thought on him while the barrage of hits, kicks, stomps and bites kept coming. I tried to bring his face into my mind while my vision blurred in pain. You know the saying that eventually the pain is so great that you don't feel it anymore? That is complete bullshit! My entire body was one big ball of pain. I refused to scream. Every time I made a noise, the next kick, bite, or hit was harder than the last. I felt tears start to roll down my cheeks, mixing with my own blood that now flowed pretty freely out of my many open wounds.

I wasn't crying because of the pain. I was crying at the thought of never seeing the people I cared about again. I wasn't going to be able to tell Maggie, John or Randy how much they meant to me. I never got to say good-bye to them. I never got to tell Jeff how much I truly loved him. I vaguely heard a noise at one end of the alley. Miz and Adam finally stopped. They vanished with Miz's help. A voice that sounded like John's, called out my name as my vision went gray. I closed my eyes. I could feel myself passing out from the pain.

"Oh shit! Sophi? Can you hear me?" I heard John ask, while I heard Maggie cry. The tears kept rolling down my cheeks as I tried to suck in enough air to say something to them. My destroyed ribs weren't helping. All I wanted was to see Jeff.

I felt a pain beyond description as John slid his arms under me and lifted my useless, broken body off the ground. I heard Maggie sobbing.

"Oh God, Sophi." Jeff. I heard a flutter of papers. John must have vanished us back to my apartment. I made a strangled sound of pain as John laid me as gently as he could on my own kitchen table. I struggled to open my eyes. I just needed to see Jeff one more time.

"What the fuck happened?" I heard Jeff yell. I could hear a little yelling back and forth but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I had finally drawn enough breath to say something. I painfully opened my one good eye. It seemed as though the other eye had swollen it's self shut.

"Jeff?" My voice was pain filled and almost non-recognizable. Jeff's face filled my partial vision.

"Yes, love?" I could see the pain in his eyes. I hate that he hurt to see me like this. My thoughts were scrambled. There was so much I wanted to say. There were things I needed to make sure of.

"Watch over Maggie?" I heard her crying.

"Love, don't talk like that." Jeff said, rubbing my cheek. I needed him to listen to me.

"Please?" I coughed as I tried to clear my lungs. They were quickly filling up with my own blood.

"Yes, love. I'll take care of her. She'll be fine."

"Not John and Randy's fault." He nodded his head.

"I know. I know." I blinked. It must have taken longer than I thought cause Jeff started to call out my name. "Sophi, Sophi? Love, please talk to me. Love, please." Jeff pleaded in my ear. I opened my eye again. I took in as much of Jeff's face as I could one last time. I was so cold. I needed to make sure he knew before I died.

"I love you Jeff." Jeff dropped his head to lay his cheek against mine. The last thing I heard before I floated away into the darkness was his voice whispering to me.

"I love you too, Sophi. I love you too. Forever, love. Forever."

**I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. I need to know if you guys are still liking it. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=**


	7. Chapter 7

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to xAngelofHardyx, RoseanneMay, HighflyinJeffHardy, Lady-Sony and Ms. Chandy. You guys rock!!! \m/ (.) \m/ I desided to try Jeff's POV on this chapter. It's the first time I've ever done a guys POV, so, I hope it sounds okay. The _italic_ is a flashback. And yes, you will get the answers to your big question. Enjoy!**

*Jeff's POV*

I watched Sophi walk out the door with John right behind her. What I told her earlier was true. I didn't think I could function until she got back. My dad had never told me that finding my kept would feel like this. It was amazing to have this kind of love for someone and have them return it to you.

Oh sure, I had women tell me that they loved me before, but they never meant it. They always wanted something from me. None of them knew the real me. But Sophi did. She knew everything about me and still loved me despite it. Or maybe because of it. Sophi, unlike other women, never asked me for a thing. Everything I gave her, she thanked me for and then told me that I didn't need to waste my money on her. I would try and take her to expensive restaurants but instead, she would insist on making me dinner at home. I loved her with my whole heart and soul. Sophi was my everything.

I smiled as I dialed Bob back.

"_Bob Rice, Manager_."

"Bob, it's Jeff again, sorry. Go ahead." I barely listened to him run on about something going on at the hotel. I made appropriate noises and answered when I needed to. Bob was a worm of a guy that tried every time he could to suck up to me. Of course, that was how to get on my good side. Yeah, right.

I piled up some of my papers to one side of the table so that we would have some place to eat. I glanced at the clock on the wall as I got up to pace around the small but nice living room. I started to get this weird feeling. I glanced at the clock again. Sophi had been gone for almost an hour. I hoped she came back soon.

I ended my call with Bob. I couldn't take his voice anymore. I told him I would come visit the hotel in the next couple of days and check things out. That would give him something to do and keep him out of my hair.

I sat my phone on the arm of the couch. I turned to grab some of the papers off the table. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. I fell to my knees as the pain hit me out of nowhere. Sophi. Had something happened to Sophi? I sat there for a minute, trying to relearn to breathe. A few minutes later, I gripped the table's edge, using it to pull myself up. When I finally got to my feet, I leaned on the table with both of my hands flat on the top of it. Something was wrong. I needed to talk to Sophi. I looked up as I felt someone vanish into the room. I saw Randy with his arms around Maggie. I looked at John standing in front of me covered in blood. None of it was his. My heart stopped and dropped to my feet as I saw who he was holding.

"Oh God, Sophi." I used my arm to sweep the rest of the papers off the table. They fluttered slowly to the ground behind me. I motioned for John to lay her down on the table. He took a step and slowly and gently laid her down. She made a noise, showing just how much pain she was in. I took in the state of her body. The need for someone to pay rose in every injury I found on her. There were too many cuts and bruises to count. Fuck me, they'd bitten her too. Her leg was broken. Her shoulder was messed up. I could tell from the weird angle her arm was laying. I could tell from the labored rise and fall of her chest, they had broken most of her ribs as well. They had busted her lip and made the one eye swell shut. Someone had essentially destroyed her body. I knew my eyes were blacker than they had every been as I turned away from Sophi.

"What the fuck happened?" I yelled at the three of them.

"We were attacked." John said. He dropped to his knees and bowed his head. I could see there was a huge knot forming on the back of his head. My attention was diverted from John when I heard Maggie crying. I turned and pointed at her.

"You! This is your fault! If she dies because of you…" I started walking towards her. Randy stepped in front of her blocking her. "Move Randy." I growled.

"You know I can't do that Jeff. This isn't her fault. You know that." He took a few steps towards me with his hands out, palms facing me. "You need to calm down."

"Fuck calming down!" I shoved him away from me. "She's fucking dying, Randy! You want me to calm down? Would you calm down if it was Maggie?" I heard a noise from behind me.

"Jeff?" Sophi's voice sounded so harsh. I was instantly by her side. I looked into her face. This was killing me to see her like this. I wish I could take all this pain away for her. Why wasn't it me?

"Yes, love?"

"Watch over Maggie?" I heard Maggie start to cry harder. I've waited all my life for Sophi. And now that I have her, she leaving. I needed her to fight, for us. God, I sounded so selfish, but I didn't give a shit. I softly rubbed her cheek.

"Love, don't talk like that."

"Please?" She coughed. It was a horribly painful sound. A small trickle of blood ran out the corner of her mouth. Fuck! That was a sign of serious internal injuries. I knew what I had to do.

"Yes, love. I'll take care of her. She'll be fine."

"Not John or Randy's fault." I nodded, agreeing with her.

"I know, I know." She slowly closed her good eye, the one that wasn't swollen shut. I started to panic. She wasn't opening her eye back up. Her breathing was becoming more labored. She was fighting for every breath she took. Not yet! She can't leave me. "Sophi, Sophi?" I got closer to her, making sure she could hear me. "Love, please talk to me. Love, please." I pleaded with her. I could see her forcing her eye back open. She looked at my face for a few seconds. Just staring. She felt so cold against my hands. If she died, I knew in my heart I was going with her.

"I love you, Jeff." I laid my cheek against hers. She closed her eye again.

"I love you too, Sophi. I love you too. Forever, love. Forever." I whispered to her. She passed out again. Her body was still fighting for every breath. I could hear her heart's unsteady beat slowing down. God, I was losing her. It was now or never. I scooped her up into my arms, cradling her against my chest.

"What are you doing?" Maggie asked me.

"I'm taking her home." I vanished us back to the room we shared at my house outside of the city. I laid her gently down on the bed. I yanked off my bloody shirt and climbed into the bed beside her. I could still hear her heart struggling to beat. She was trying to fight this losing battle. I had to do it now. I had no choice. I knew she would be mad at me, but at least she would be alive. It wouldn't take much. She had lost so much blood already.

I lifted her small delicate wrist in my much larger hand. I noticed her hand. It was completely swollen and discolored. Her fingers were jutting out at all different angles. I touched it and could hear the scraping of bones as they rubbed together unnaturally. I glanced at her other hand laying by her side. I looked exactly the same. They had crushed her beautiful hands. The need to kill someone for this was eating me alive. No, think of Sophi first. I lifted her wrist again. I saw the small tattoo across her wrist. Just the word '_angyal_'. The Hungarian word for 'angel'. It was what her Grandmother used to call her. Maggie had a matching one on her ankle. I looked back at Sophi's face. She was an angel. She was _my_ angel and I was going to save her.

"Forgive me, love." I kissed the inside of her wrist. "But I can't let you go. Forgive me." I bit into the smooth, soft skin of her wrist. That first rush of her blood that hit my tongue made me react the same way it did every time I drank from her. My mind flashed to a vision of her under me, naked, writhing and screaming my name. The need to bury myself deep inside her body almost overwhelmed me. I stopped myself when I felt her heartbeat slow to the point of no return. I pulled away from her wrist. I licked the wound, sealing it closed.

I lifted my own wrist to my mouth. I ran my thumb along Sophi's bottom lip, trying to slowly and gently force her mouth open. I parted her lips just enough. I bit into my own wrist. I watched the blood well up quickly and run down to drip off the opposite side of my wrist. I lowered my arm towards her mouth. I had to get as much blood as I could inside of her before the wound closed itself. It was coming at a pretty steady flow and I got a good 20 drops in her mouth before the wound stopped bleeding. I closed her mouth, hoping that the natural instinct to swallow would kick in. I massaged the front of her throat gently, trying to encourage the movement. Finally, I felt her weakly swallow.

I pressed a soft kiss against her lips. I tasted my own blood. I grabbed my discarded shirt and started to wipe away the blood from her face. I froze the moment I felt her heart stop beating. I laid my face against her chest, over her heart, praying that I would hear that sound again. I don't know how long I lay there waiting. I stroked the soft skin of her stomach. Just waiting. After what seemed like hours, I finally heard that beloved sound. It started slow but steadily picked up. I sat up and prayed again that she was going to be okay as I noticed how blue her lips were. She wasn't breathing yet. I tried to brush some of her hair off her face. The blood had started to dry so it was sticking to her face. I was going to make it my personal mission to find whoever did this to her and tear them apart with my bare hands.

Suddenly, Sophi's back arched of the bed as she took in a deep breath. She dropped back down to the bed only to start coughing up the blood that had pooled in her lungs. I could feel her heartbeat getting more steady and strong. Now, all I could do was wait for her to wake up. From what I knew, the process of turning only a few hours, then she would wake up. I didn't know if it would happen that quickly this time. She was hurt so badly. I didn't care how long it took. I would stay right here with her until she opened both of her eyes again.

I watched as some of the smaller cuts started to knit themselves back together. Within the hour, all of her open wounds would be closed. They would be the bright pink of fresh scars. Another hour or so and they would be gone completely. As soon as the open wounds were healed over, then her body would start fixing the internal things. I heard her moan softly. I knew healing from a significant injury wasn't the most pleasant experience. Hell, it was down right painful. I couldn't imagine the pain she was in.

I gently removed what was left of her shirt. I tossed it and my shirt into a pile in the center of the floor. I slowly removed her jeans. I slipped off her bra as well. It was completely covered in blood. I didn't think she would want to kept it. Her underwear was the only piece of her clothing that wasn't destroyed, so I left them on her.

I walked into the bathroom attached to our room. I grabbed some clean towels and wet some washcloths. I walked back to her side and gently cleaned the dried blood from her body. The more blood I cleaned off, the more bruises I found. They would be the last things to heal. It was odd when you thought about it. A bruise was one of the least threatening injuries, yet it took the longest to heal on us.

When I was done, I tossed the towels in the pile. The first chance I got, I was going to throw it all away. But first… I vanished down the hall and grabbed clean sheets out of the closet. I vanished back to our room. I gingerly lifted Sophi to the opposite side of the bed. I stripped that side and slipped on the new sheets. Then I did the same for the other side. I tossed the sheets into the pile.

I shook out the clean flat sheet and covered her with it. I climbed back into the bed with her. I tried to prop her up slightly. I, gently as I could, I adjusted her shoulder so that it would heal better. When I touched her shoulder, she moaned in pain. When she opened her mouth, I caught a glimpse of her newly formed fangs. I was right. She was going to look so sexy with fangs.

I don't know how long I sat there, just watching her. I brushed her beautiful dark hair off of her face. I softly caressed her cheek, willing her to wake up. Yes, I knew she was gonna be angry at me but I just wanted to see her open her alluring blue eyes. Even if she was just yelling at me for what I did, I still wanted to hear Sophi's voice.

There was a light knock on the door. I sat up in the bed.

"Come in." I called out. The door slowly opened and Randy stuck his head in. "Randy. Come in." He pushed open the door, walked in and shut it behind him.

"Jeff," he took a few steps towards the bed, "how is she?" I could tell that he wanted to know if I had turned her. I brushed some more hair off Sophi's forehead.

"She's getting better. It's only been a couple of hours so…"

"Jeff…it's been 24 hours already. They finally made me come to check on the two of you. We needed to know." 24 hours already. Damn it. She needed to wake up soon.

"We?" I questioned.

"Me, John and Maggie. We were worried about Sophi and we were worried about you."

"We're okay. Why didn't they come with you?" I stroked Sophi's shoulder. "Sophi would like to see them, I'm sure." I looked back up at Randy and repeated my question. "Why didn't they come Randy?"

"Well, John's sure that you don't want to see him or have him anywhere near Sophi. And Maggie, well…Maggie is afraid of you." I was shocked by that.

"Why would they think that?"

"You don't remember yelling?" I shook my head 'no'. "Jeff, you yelled at all of us. I thought you were going to kill John. And," I saw his eyes get dark, "then you threatened Maggie." Randy told me exactly what I had done. I hadn't even realized.

"Randy, I'm sorry. I…it's just…" I looked down at Sophi. "It was…she was dying. I…"

"We understand. Any of us would have done the same thing." I nodded.

"Randy go get them and bring them back here. Not for me, for Sophi." He bowed his head to me.

"Yes, sir." Randy vanished. I climbed out of the bed and walked to Sophi's side. I tucked the sheet around her. I noticed that one of her hands had slipped from under the sheet. I carefully lifted it. Her fingers were back to their normal shape and all the swelling was gone. There were a couple of bruises left but the bones had healed themselves. I softly kissed the back of her hand before I laid it back down beside her and covered it back up as I heard the knock on the door.

"Come in." Randy pushed the door. He was followed by John and a very nervous Maggie. John walked right over to me. He started to go to his knees. I touched his shoulder. "John, there is no need for that. I know you. They had to take you down to even get close to her."

"Jeff, I…"

"You did everything you could. They weren't stupid. They knew they had to incapacitated you. John, don't beg forgiveness. Sophi would hate that. You know that." John nodded. "When she wakes up, you can ask her if you deserve to be punished." John nodded again. I smiled at him knowing that Sophi would never punish him. I saw Maggie hanging back against the door. She noticed me looking and averted her eyes. I took a step towards her.

"Jeff?" Randy put a hand on my chest, stopping me. "I can't let you..." I patted his shoulder.

"Randy, it's okay." He hesitantly removed his hand. I stepped up to Maggie. She was ringing her hands. She _was_ afraid of me. "Maggie?" She glanced at me. She was crying. "Maggie, I'm not gonna hurt you. I would never do that. Sophi would never forgive me. I truly am sorry that I scared you." I held out a hand to her. She looked at my hand then at my face. "I'm sure that she would want to see you." Maggie reluctantly put her hand in mine. I pulled her away from the wall and over to Sophi. She started to cry a little harder. I stepped back and let her have a second with her.

"Sophi," Maggie brushed at her hair, "how could they do this to you?"

"Maggie, do you know who did this? Did you see who it was?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"No, I didn't. But who else could it be, Jeff? You know it had to be Taker's men."

"Adam was the one that grabbed hr. I don't know who hit me." John said. I felt my anger rising. That bastard Adam touched my Sophi. If I ever saw him again…

"Jeff?" Maggie asked, pulling my attention back. "Did you…turn her?" I took a deep breath.

"Yes. I had no choice. She was going to die Maggie. I couldn't let her die."

"I know." She surprised me by turning around and hugging me. "Thank you for saving her." She surprised me again by laughing quietly. "She's gonna be mad when she figures out what you did." I couldn't help but laugh with her.

"I know. I know. I can't wait."

As the three of them of them started to leave, I grabbed Randy telling him to hang back for a second. Randy kissed Maggie and sent her with John, telling her he would be along in a minute.

"Randy, I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, anything Jeff."

"I need you to go back to the apartment and grab my phone." Randy nodded. He vanished and reappeared a few seconds later. He held the phone out to me. "Thanks. Only one more thing. Do you see that?" I pointed to the pile of bloody and ripped cloth in the middle of the floor. He nodded as he glanced back at it. "Burn it."

I climbed back in the bed to lay beside Sophi. I sent the message that I needed to. I knew I wouldn't get an answer right away. I settled down in the bed. I took in Sophi's face. The swelling around her eye was gone and the cut on her lip had healed, but the bruises were still there. I leaned over her and gently moved her shoulder. It had reset itself and was healing nicely. She murmured a little like it was uncomfortable for me to touch it. I uncovered her leg. It too was for the most part healed. Still plenty of bruising but the bone was healed.

As I sat there watching her, willing her to wake up I thought back to the day I finally met her.

_I woke up after a long night of tossing and turning. I had those dreams again. I had dreamt all night about her. I woke up this time panting and sweating with my need for her. My body was aching for her. My dad had told me I would dream about her but he never told me they would be this much in detail. Before, I could see all of her body, every inch of it. Except the part I needed the most to find her. This last dream was different. This time, I saw her face. Didn't this mean I was going to find her soon? God, I hope that's what it meant. I didn't know how much more of this I could take. I thought about it the whole time I was in the shower._

_I thought about on the way to my office downtown. I stopped at the same place I stopped every morning and got coffee. I sat in the car, waiting to take my first sip when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I didn't catch her face but I got a bit of her profile. From what I could tell, she was quite lovely. I watched her walk to a beat-up old Chevy sitting a couple cars in front of mine. I couldn't help but watch the hypnotic sway of her hips as she walked. She wasn't doing it on purpose. There was no one around to watch her do it. It was just the natural way she walked. She tossed her purse and bag in the passenger seat and climbed in. I caught a glimpse of her leg as she pulled it in the car behind her. Her skirt had ridden up to her upper thigh and I saw every bit of that leg, down to her sexy black heals. I wondered if her legs would feel as silky as they looked. Damn, what was wrong with me? I have a couple erotic dreams and now I'm lusting after some stranger on the street. Get a grip, Hardy!_

_I was about to pull away from the curb when I saw the door to the old Chevy come back open. She climbed out and popped the hood to her car. I watched the sway of her hips again as she walked to the front of her car. The air suddenly rushed out of my body, like someone had hit me in the stomach with a baseball bat. I saw her face as she lifted the hood. It was her. My kept. I had finally found her and she was standing less than 20 feet away from me. I climbed out of my own car. I needed to talk to her. I needed to hear her voice._

_I walked around the opposite side of the car and up behind her. She had her forehead resting on her arms. Her eyes were closed. I leaned in close to her, inhaling deeply. I caught the subtle scent of her perfume. It wasn't overwhelming but if a guy got this close to her, they could smell it and it would drive them wild. I couldn't help the flair of jealously that rose up at the thought of some other guy being this close to her._

_Underneath that, I could smell the scent of her skin. Honey and lilacs. I had to fight the urge to kiss the skin of her exposed neck and see if she actually tasted as good as she smelled._

_"Do you need some help, love?" I said into her ear. She jumped at the sound of my voice. She tried to take a few steps away only to trip over her own feet. She was stumbling backwards into oncoming traffic. I reached out, grabbed her upper arms and pulled her back. She stumbled forward and I took that opportunity to pull her against me. God, she felt perfect. Hopefully, my voice sounded normal when I spoke again. "Easy there, love. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?" She nodded. Then she spoke. She had one of the sexiest voices I had ever heard._

_"Yes, I'm okay. Thank y…" She finally looked up at me. I watched her_ _gorgeous blue eyes get slightly wide as she recognized me. Damn it. I wanted her not to be one of those women that want me because for who I was. Maybe if I was lucky, she didn't have those pre-conceived notions about me. I rubbed her arm gently. I couldn't help it._

_"Are you sure you're okay. Love?" She pulled back and stepped away from me. She did a quick once over of me. Why didn't I dress nicer? Damn me and my casual day._

_"Yes, I…I…I'm fine."_

_"Do you know what's wrong with your car?"_

_"No. I think it just finally died. I guess it's time to get a new one." She sighed. "Yeah, right. I'm just going to end up riding the bus." She smiled at me. Even if she wasn't my kept, I would have had to get to know this beautiful woman. "Save money that way." I couldn't help but smile back at her._

_"Makes sense. For today, can I give you a ride to where you're going?" Please say yes, please say yes._

_"Umm…" She hesitated. Think Hardy! Get her to say yes._

_"I know, your parents taught you never to except rides from strangers." I held out my hand to her. "I'm Jeff." She looked at my hand. Please take it, love. She finally took it. Damn, her skin was soft._

_"I know who you are Mr. Hardy." I grinned at her. She wasn't one of those women._

_"Call me Jeff. Please don't believe everything you read and hear. They tend to make up a lot of things."_

_"I don't believe most of it. I know half the people that write those stories. They're mostly going for headlines."_

_"Do you work for the paper?" That would be great if she did. I would know where to find her later._

_"Yes. I write a small piece that's normally hidden between the full page ads in the back." She squeezed my hand slightly, reminding me that I was still holding her hand._

_"So," try not to freak her out Hardy, "do you have a name, love?" She looked flustered._

_"Oh, sorry. I'm Sophibella Laurell. But everyone just calls me Sophi." I finally had a name. I smiled at her again._

_"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you Sophi." Ever the gentleman, I lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. God. Her skin _did_ taste like honey. I couldn't resist tasting her skin again. I let her hand go. "Now that we're no longer strangers, can I offer you that ride once more?"_

_"Yes. Thank you. I would love to ride you. Oh, ride __**with**__ you. I would love to ride __**with**__ you." I watched her duck her head as her face turned a bright red. I smiled at the image that her words put into my mind. I would love that too. She eventually lifted her head to look at me. I offered her my arm._

_"I would like nothing more than to drive you to work." She took my arm and led her to my car._

I looked down at Sophi, laying there, still trying to recover. I remember watching her climb into my car that day. Every chance I got, I would glance at her legs. When she sat down her, skirt had ridden up her thighs again. She nervously crossed and uncrossed her legs and played with the hem of her skirt. She drove me crazy with that.

I was pulled out of my daydream as my phone went off, letting me know that I had a message. I read it and it just confirmed what I already suspected. Miz and Adam had been the one to attack Sophi. They were as good as dead. I tossed my phone on the nightstand. I laid down beside Sophi and pressed my face against her good shoulder. I kissed her exposed skin.

I jolted straight up when I heard the sound. I looked down at Sophi's face. She was murmuring and her eyelids were fluttering. She lifted her hand to grip at her stomach as she rolled to her side. Thank you God! My Sophi was waking up...

**I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=**


	8. Chapter 8

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to xAngelofHardyx, RoseanneMay, Luna, Lady-Sony and Ms. Chandy. You guys rock!!! \m/ (.) \m/ Enjoy**

The pain in my stomach was horrendous. It felt like I hadn't eaten in weeks. I slowly opened my eyes, only to snap them shut at how bright the light was coming in through the window. I moaned at the combination of the pain that the light caused.

"Sophi, love? Can you hear me?" Jeff asked. Jeff was here? Wait, where the hell was here? The pain hit me again. I clutched at my stomach.

"Jeff?" I barely got his name out.

"Yes, love. I'm here. I'm here." Suddenly, the room got darker. "That should help." I felt his hand on my cheek. "Can you open your eyes for me, love?" I slowly opened them. Jeff was right there. I noticed, behind him, he had pulled the shade closed. I saw that we were in our room at his house.

"Jeff?" He was smiling like an idiot at me.

"Yes?" I laid my forehead against his chest as the pain rolled through me again. I moaned.

"Can you make it stop? It hurts so bad. Can you call my doctor?" I inhaled deeply when the pain died down momentarily. God, Jeff smelled so good. I had the urge just to run my tongue up his chest. I was just about to do that when the pain hit worse than any other time. I cried out. "Jeff, please. Make it stop." He gently pushed me away from his chest to lay on my back.

"You don't need a doctor, love. I have exactly what you need." He shoved his wrist up under my nose. I grabbed it with both hands, holding it there. I smelled his skin again. This time I didn't fight the urge. I licked across his pulse. He tucked himself against my side and kissed my cheek. "Do it, love. You need this." He kissed again. "You'll feel better." I sank my teeth into his wrist. I heard Jeff groan as I pulled deep on his vein. God, he tasted amazing. He tasted like the sweetest wine I had ever had. I could feel how excited Jeff was against my hip. Every time I pulled on his vein, he thrust himself against my hip. "Oh God Sophi…" Jeff moaned in my ear. I was getting hotter and hotter. I felt myself rubbing against Jeff as well. Every taste of his blood made me want him more. Wait…blood? Holy shit! I was drinking his blood! I let go of his wrist and shoved him away. I scrambled out of the bed. I actually made it a few steps before my legs gave out on me. I was so weak I could barely move. "Sophi? Love" Jeff panted, sitting up in the bed. "Come back to bed." I shook my head 'no', covering my mouth. What the hell was I doing? I had my hand clamped over my mouth pretty tightly, making me notice how sore a couple of my front teeth were. I hesitantly felt one of the sore ones. Why was it so long and sharp? Oh…I felt the matching one. I had fangs. I shot a look at Jeff.

"What did you do to me, Jeff?" He got off the bed and started to walk towards me. I tried to pull myself backwards away from him but I was too weak to get away. He knelt down in front of me.

"Love…" He lifted his hand to touch my face. I pulled away.

"Jeff, how could you? You promised me you wouldn't do this to me! I wasn't ready for this!" I started to cry. What was I going to do? I knew nothing about being a vampire.

"Please don't cry, love." He tried to touch my face again but I moved away. "I had to. I had no choice." He bowed his head.

"What? You had no choice? Bullshit Jeff! You had a choice! What happened? You got little carried away last night during sex and decided to take it all the way?"

"Sophi, you know it wasn't like that."

"Do I? All I remember is waking up and drinking your blood! Oh God. I have to drink blood now?" Jeff sat back on his heels and looked at me.

"Sophi, you don't remember what happened?" I wiped at the tears that refused to stop with the side of my hand.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"What's the last thing you remember, love?"

"Why does that even matter Jeff?" I tried to stand up only to have my legs fold under me. Not until Jeff caught me and lowered me down to the floor, did I realize that I was, for the most part, naked. I shoved Jeff's hands away. He was just watching me. "I remember going to the diner with John and…then…well, I don't remember exactly what happened after that. I just remember waking up here." Jeff looked upset by what I said. He stood up and walked to his dresser. He dug in one of the drawers and pulled out a t-shirt. He walked back to me and knelt down. He handed the shirt to me. I slipped it on. "Jeff, what are you not telling me?" I tried to push him away as he easily lifted me and carried me back to the bed. "Jeff? What's going on? What happened?" How bad was it that Jeff didn't want to tell me? He leaned in and kissed my forehead.

"Does your stomach still hurt, love?" I nodded.

"Yes, but not as bad as before. Jeff, what's…" he cut me off.

"I'm going to call the doctor. I'll have him come and see you. If you need me, I'll be right outside, okay?" I nodded again. He kissed my forehead again and vanished. I sat back against the headboard and pulled my knees to my chest. When I went to wrap my arms around my knees, I noticed for the first time that both of my hands were completely bruised up. I started to actually look at myself for the first time. I was covered in bruises. I lifted the t-shirt. My chest and lower stomach were covered in the bruises. What the hell happened to me? Oh God. If something happened after I left the diner, since that was my last memory, did something happen to John? Was he okay? I had to know if he was okay. Had something happened to Maggie and Randy? Okay, now I was scared.

"Jeff?" I called out hoping that he was within hearing distance. "Jeff?" The door flew open and Jeff came barreling in towards me.

"Are you okay, love?" He put a hand on each of my cheeks, looking intently at my face. "What hurts, love?" Now that I thought about it…

"Actually, I'm really sore all over and my stomach still hurts but that's not why I called you." A look of relief came over Jeff's face.

"Okay, okay." I realized that he still had his hands cupping my cheeks. The thumb on his right hand was softly caressing my cheekbone. Despite his show of concern, I was still mad at Jeff for what he did. I wrapped my bruised hands around his wrists and pulled his hand away from my face.

"Jeff, I need to know if John's okay." I strange look came over his face.

"John?"

"Yeah, my friend, the guy that was with me the last time I remember anything. I need to see him." He stood up.

"You want John?"

"Yes Jeff, I want John." He mumbled something to himself. "What?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Nothing." He sighed. "The doctor will be here in a couple minutes and when he leaves, I'll call them for you." He turned and walked into the bathroom, all but slamming the door behind him. What the hell was that about? I sat there for a few seconds just listening to Jeff move around the bathroom. I could tell from the sound of his footsteps that he was pacing in the bathroom. I was starting to feel a little better. I was on the verge of yelling to Jeff and telling him I didn't need the doctor. Then the pain made it's return. I doubled over, clutching at my stomach. It took all I had not to call out to Jeff.

I heard Jeff's phone ring. He spoke to whoever was there and told them to come on up. I heard Jeff open the door. I sat back against the headboard and dropped my hands to my side. For some reason, I didn't want Jeff to think I was weak and couldn't handle a little pain. He glanced at me as there was a knock on the bedroom door. Jeff opened the door.

"Come on in Dave. Thank for coming." I was shocked once again as Dr. Dave Batista walked through the door. Holy crap! Dr. Dave was my doctor. Was he a vampire? Jeff shook Dr. Dave's hand and let him make his way over to the bed.

"Sophi?" He asked. He was surprised to see me too. I nodded. I was kind of biting the inside of my lip to keep from making noise. The pain was getting bad again. "I didn't know you were the Queen. What a pleasant surprise. At least I already know your previous medical history." I smile slightly.

"I'm not the Queen…"

"Yet." Jeff finished for me. I glanced at him and then back at Dr. Dave. He grinned. He could tell that we weren't getting along at the moment. Dr. Dave walked over to the nightstand and set down his bag. He took off his jacket and laid it in the chair.

"So, Ms. Sophi, do you want him to stay in here or would you prefer that he leave?" Dr. Dave asked me.

"I'm not leaving. I need to know what's going on." Jeff said. Dr. Dave turned back to me.

"Sophi?" I shrugged.

"You heard the King, go ahead. I don't care." He nodded. He went through all the normal doctor things, you know like listening to my heart and lungs, checking my blood pressure, stuff like that.

"Okay, I need you to lay back flat for me." I did. "Are you having any pain anywhere?" The whole time he had been doing the exam, I had been fighting the pain in my stomach.

"My stomach hurts but other than that, I'm just really sore all over." He nodded. He pulled up the shirt I was wearing, exposing my lower stomach.

"Tell me if any of this hurts." He started to press his fingertips against me, feeling for anything that shouldn't be there. He worked his way up to my stomach. He pressed on it and I cried out. God, it hurt so bad, it actually brought tears to my eyes. "I'm sorry." He pulled my shirt back down. I rolled over to my side and curled into a ball. Why hide it now? They both knew how bad it hurt. "Sophi, did you feed?"

"Feed?" I asked.

"When you woke up, did you drink from Jeff?" I nodded.

"Yes." I glanced at Jeff, who was pacing tightly behind Dr. Dave, running his hand through his hair. He turned to look at Jeff. Jeff nodded in agreement.

"It must not have been enough." He sat on the edge of the bed beside me. He rubbed my shoulder softly. "Sophi, I'm gonna leave you some pain medication. Now when you look at it, it's gonna seem pretty high and strong. That's because our bodies process medication differently now. We need stronger doses to actually work for us. I want you to take it if the pain gets too bad. It will also help you get some sleep with the pain. I'm pretty sure the pain is going to fade in a couple of days. Okay, sweetheart?" I nodded. "You have my number. Call me if you need me." I nodded again. He got up and walked out the door with Jeff following him. Jeff pulled the door like he was going to close it but didn't pull it all the way. They started to talk quietly, thinking I couldn't hear them.

"Dave, how is she really? What can I do to make her feel better?" Jeff sounded worried. I was pretty mad at Jeff for turning me against my wishes, but for some reason, I was anxious because he wasn't in the room with me right now.

"She needs to feed Jeff. That's why she's still in pain. You need to get her to feed."

"What if I can't? What if she won't?"

"Jeff, I don't care what you have to do, but you need to get some blood into the Queen. The sooner, the better. I don't care if you have to cut yourself and put it in a glass, she needs it. It will take her 10 times longer to heal without it."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do." He sighed. "What about her memory?"

"My suggestion is to avoid it. If she asks you about it just change the subject. Just try not to talk about it. I don't think Sophi needs any more drama right now. If she remembers then you can deal with it then. But if she doesn't, the better for her. I say, just let it go for now. Let's focus on getting her better."

"You're right. She doesn't need that right now. Hey, thanks for coming Dave."

"No problem. You know where to find me if you need me."

"I do. Thanks." Jeff walked back in the room. He walked back over to sit where Dr. Dave was sitting earlier. "Sophi, do you want to try and drink again?"  
"No." I really wasn't in the mood for that. I so didn't want any blood.

"Do you want me to put it in a glass for you?" Still the same thing.

"No." I groaned out the word as the pain rolled through my stomach.

"Sophi, you have to feed." He sighed, dropping his head to his hands.

"I don't want to. I want to see John." Jeff stood up abruptly.

"Damn it." Jeff mumbled quietly to himself.

"Jeff, I need to…" He cut me off angrily.

"I'm calling him!" He stomped out the door and slammed it behind him. I could hear him talking in the hall. The phone snapped shut. I jumped when the wall beside the door shuttered so hard it knocked the painting off the wall, breaking the glass in the frame. The door flew open and Jeff walked back in. I saw that his hand was bleeding. I tried to sit up.

"Jeff, what hap…"

"I called him. Maggie and Randy are coming with him." He walked into the bathroom. He pushed the door but it didn't close all the way. I didn't know why he was so upset. The need to comfort him was extremely strong. I pulled my self up into a sitting position. I was so weak that it took so much just to get up against the headboard. From this position, I could see Jeff's reflection in the mirror hanging across from me. He was leaned over the sink with a hand braced on either side. I saw his naked shoulders hunch up tightly as his phone rang. He yanked the phone out of his pocket.

"Yeah?" He paused. "Okay, come on up." He put the phone back in his pocket. He washed the blood off of his hand and came back in the room. He didn't even look at me. He pulled open the door to reveal Maggie, Randy and John. "She wants John." Jeff told them. He looked at John, who nodded and started to walk past Jeff. Before he got past him, Jeff grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. He said something to him that made John just nod. Jeff let him go. John walked into the room. Jeff pulled the door shut. John hesitantly walked over to the side of the bed. I smiled at him.

"John, I'm so glad to see you." He barely smiled back at me. I waved him to me. I held my arms out for him to hug me. He leaned in and hugged me tightly. "I'm so happy that you're okay. I was worried about you. I thought that if I got hurt then you got hurt too." John seemed almost reluctant to let me go.

"I'm beyond sorry Sophi. I know there is no way I can ever make this up to you. I want to make this up to you. I want you to know that I am willing to take any punishment you see fit. I'm so sorry, _regina mea."_ _Regina Mea, _my Queen. I had been studying.

"John, you don't really think I would do that to you do you?"

"I deserve nothing less." I thought for a second.

"Fine. Your punishment, continue your service as my _supravegnere._" He shot me a look.

"That's it? That's my punishment?" I nodded.

"Isn't that bad enough? You have to keep putting up with me." That actually made him smile. He bowed his head.

"That is in no way bad at all. But thank you." We talked for a few more minutes. I didn't bother to ask him what happened because I knew Jeff told him not to tell me. John left a few moments later, letting Randy and Maggie in. Randy hugged me and told me that he was happy I was okay. Maggie did the same.

"I'm going to leave you two alone for a little while. I'm sure you want to talk." Randy said. He kissed Maggie and said something in her ear.

"I remember." Maggie told him. He kissed her again and walked back out the door. I saw that when he opened it, Jeff was the only one standing there. John was already gone.

"Maggie, are you and Randy okay? You two didn't get hurt did you?" I asked her.

"No, we're okay. Now, everyone's okay." She hugged me again. "Oh, before I forget. I brought you something." Maggie handed me a small green gift bag with light green tissue paper sticking out of the top. How did I miss her carrying this in?

"Mags, you didn't have to buy me anything. You know how I feel about that." She smiled slightly.

"Oh, don't worry. I didn't buy you anything but the bag."

"Oh," I looked down at the bag, "okay." I started to pull the tissue paper out of the bag. When I saw my 'gift' at the bottom of the bag, I almost started to cry.

"Oh my God, Maggie. Where did you find him?" I lifted my beloved stuffed Kermit out. I had him since right before my parents died. It had been the last thing my mom gave me. She gave it to me that morning, before I went to school. Her and my dad were gone by that afternoon.

"I found him in your hope chest." I stroked the soft cloth of Kermit's stomach, fighting the urge to cry at the memory of my parents.

"I thought I lost him when we moved. I'm so glad you found him. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Don't cry on me now. I brought him to make you happy, not bring back unhappy memories."

"I know. Did you know that I was considering going on eBay and searching for a replacement. I wasn't going to love it the same but I was going to sit it on a shelf so that it would bring back good memories. Oh, and I was totally gonna make Jeff pay for it." Maggie laughed. It made me smile. That was when I noticed. "Maggie, do you have fangs too?" She abruptly closed her mouth.

"Uh, yeah, I do."

"Are they real?" What a stupid question to ask when I knew the answer. She nodded. Then it occurred to me…

"When did this happen?"

"Last night." When I was still out of it. Of course. He needed to feed. Why not use Maggie?

"Did you enjoy it?" She blushed a little.

"Yeah, I did. I just kinda went to sleep when we were done and then I woke up like this a few hours later."

"Did he enjoy it?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to hear the answer, but I asked anyway. She laughed.

"What do you think Soph? He got sex and blood. Of course he did. He was in heaven." I'm sure he was. God, I can't believe she had the gall to laugh about this. I wonder how Randy feels about this? I guess he can't argue too much, Jeff _is_ the King. I guess if anyone would be the one to turn someone it would be him. I'm sure that being with Maggie was so much better than being with me. She was tall and beautiful, with long tan legs, blonde hair and green eyes. She was any guys dream girl. Me, not so much. I was shorter with dark brown hair and I was not tan at all. I did have blue eyes, which is what drew my other boyfriends to me. (That's what they told me anyway.) I may be Jeff's Queen, but Maggie got to be the special one that he went to when he was tired of being with me. That actually really hurt.

"So, he turned you too." I said quietly to her. She started to say something, but was cut off as Jeff walked into the room.

"Maggie, she needs her rest." She just nodded. She leaned in and hugged me. I didn't hug her back. She walked out to Randy, who took her hand. Jeff shut the door before they vanished. Jeff started to walk towards me.

"Sophi," I scooted down in the bed and rolled to my other side. I gave Jeff my back. I was on the verge of tears and I didn't want to give him another reason to go running to Maggie. He sat down behind me. "Sophi, are you sure you don't…" I didn't want anything he was offering.

"No." He sighed. I felt him touch my hip. I moved, showing him that I was uncomfortable with him touching me. He pulled his hand away.

"Fine, but you need to take some of this pain medication, so you can get some sleep." I was pretty sure even as strong as that medication was, it wasn't going to take away the extra pain I was feeling now. Hopefully, it might let me sleep.

"Okay." I said quietly. He stood up. A few seconds later I heard the water come on in the bathroom. Then I heard him shake a pill out into his hand.

"Here Sophi," I rolled back over. He sat the water down on the table. I tried to push myself up into a sitting position. Damn this being weak. Jeff reached out, grabbed my upper arms softly and helped me up before I could stop him. I pushed his hands away.

"Don't. I got it." He let go, but didn't move away. I held my hand out for the pill. I didn't even venture a glance at him. The way I was feeling, I knew I would start crying. He placed the pill in my palm. I grabbed the water off the nightstand. I quickly glanced at him through my lashes. He was standing with his back to me. He had his hand halfway through his hair. He was frustrated with something. Was it the fact he wished he was with Maggie right now? I closed my eyes. I took the pill and drank all the water. It felt good on my dry throat.

Jeff turned around when he heard me set the glass on the nightstand.

"Do you want some more?"

"I don't want anything else. Stop asking me." I laid back down and gave him my back again.

"I'm fuckin' sorry I did." He mumbled quietly to himself. He switched off the overhead light that he had turned on earlier. Even though it was dark in the room, I could see Jeff when he walked around to his side of the bed. He flipped on the light on the nightstand. He took his phone out of his pocket and started unbuttoning his pants.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to lean up on my elbow. He pulled down his zipper.

"I'm getting ready for bed."

"What? Why?"

"I would like to get some sleep, if that's okay with you, _my Queen._" He bowed at the waist when he mockingly called me that.

"In here?"

"In case you forgot, this is _my _house. I feel like I should be able to sleep where ever I want. And I really want to sleep in _my _bed." Oh, okay. I see.

"Then take me somewhere else so you don't…"

"Fuck Sophi! Just go to sleep! I'm not taking you anywhere. You're staying here and that's final. We're not talking about this anymore." He pulled off his pants and tossed them to a nearby chair. I rolled over, facing away from him as he climbed into bed and turned off the light, sending the room into darkness again. I thought about sliding out of the bed and sneaking down the hallway to another room. I knew that was out of the question though. I felt the heaviness in my arms and legs that you get when the heavy-duty pain meds start to take effect.

I started to softly cry. Now that Jeff had me forever, he didn't want me anymore. Supposedly, he went through a lot to save me. I don't know why he went to the trouble. My last cohesive thought as I lost the battle with sleep, 'Why didn't Jeff just let me die?'

_I couldn't catch my breath. The hits, bites and kicks kept coming. I was dying, I could feel it. I was going to die in this alley, alone._

_Adam and Miz's faces both appeared before mine. They were covered in blood. My blood. I hadn't been able to get a hit in. Miz smiled as my blood ran down his chin from where he had just bitten me. Adam licked his own lips clean and grinned, giving me a glimpse of all his fangs._

_"Are you ready for some more, pet?" He came at me._

I sat straight up in the pitch black room screaming. I felt a hand on my shoulder that made me scream again. I blindly slapped at the hand, trying to get it away from me.

"No!" I yelled. "Please don't hurt me! Please!" I kept smacking at the person who now wrapped their arms around me and pressed me to their chest. I couldn't get away.

"Sophi, love? It's me. It's Jeff, love. You're okay. It's okay, love. It's okay." His voice finally broke through my hysteria. He was holding me tight and stroking my sweat soaked hair. I laid my face against his chest. It was Jeff holding me. I wasn't in that dark, wet alley anymore. That didn't keep me from crying. "Shh. It's okay, love. I've got you. No one can hurt you. You're safe here with me, love. You're safe." I nodded and wrapped my arms around him. We sat that way, quiet for a few minutes, until I calmed down some. "Do you want to tell me what you were dreaming about, love?"

"The first part wasn't a dream, it was a memory. I remember everything that Adam and Miz did to me. I remember stepping out of the diner with John as he took a phone call from Matt. I remember getting this weird feeling and then Miz knocking John out and Adam rubbing himself against me when he told me that it excited him when I fought back." I went on to tell him everything that happened. I told him how that 'dream' ended with me telling him that I loved him and then it melted right into the nightmare that woke me up. The whole time, Jeff gently rubbed my back, comforting me. "Jeff?" I sat back from him. He leaned away and clicked on the light. "I'm sorry I got mad at you for turning me. You really didn't have a choice, did you?"

"No, I didn't. You were dying. I couldn't let you go, love."

"I'm glad that you didn't. I love you. I don't even care that you had sex with Maggie and she's your mistress. I don't care. I still want to be with you." I leaned in and kissed him. "I'm so sorry I got mad at you, Jeff." I kissed him again.

"That's okay, love. I…hold on. Did you say…Sophi, I've never had sex with Maggie. She's not my mistress either. Where did you get an idea like that? I would never do that to you, love. I don't have feelings like that towards Maggie. Where did you get an idea that I would?"

"Well, she's a vampire, right?" I drug my fingertip across his bare chest, drawing imaginary designs there, not looking at his face.

"Yes, but…"

"Well, most of the time, doesn't the whole turning thing involve sex?"

"Yes, normally it does."

"And she said that when she was turned, there was sex. So, I just assumed that when you turned her, you had sex with her. Don't worry, baby," I looked up at him, "I don't even care. It doesn't matter to me anymore." Jeff smiled. He grabbed my hand, stopping my drawing and brought it to his lips.

"I'm so glad that you understand, love." He kissed my hand again. "But I didn't turn Maggie." He kissed my wrist. "Randy did." He did?

"But…but…you're the King. I thought…" I stuttered. Jeff smiled against my wrist.

"I don't do that, love." He kissed my wrist again then suddenly started laughing quietly. "Sophi," he looked at me, "you were jealous of Maggie when you thought I turned her, weren't you?"

"Umm…" I ducked my head, "yes. I thought that you didn't want me anymore because Maggie's so much more beautiful than I am. She's always been more popular with the guys. I just thought this was another time." Jeff laughed quietly.

"Have you ever seen yourself, love? You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and ever want to see. I have no desire to ever even look at another woman. I only want to see you."

"Jeff, you're just saying that cause I'm your kept. You are just a bit biased."

"You don't see the way that other guys look at you. I do. No matter what you believe, love, you are beautiful. All though, it could be them staring at your sexy little butt when you walk. The way your hips move…that is enough to drive a sane man crazy." I smacked at his arm.

"Jeff!"

"What? I can't lie to you, love." He kissed my forehead and laid back down, pulling me down to lay on his chest. I laid my hand over his heart. Jeff softly stroked my hair. "Can I tell you something, love?" I nodded. "I'm jealous of John." What? I lifted my head to look at his face.

"John?" He nodded. "As in John Cena, who works for you, John?" He nodded again.

"Yes, that John."

"Why?"

"Because you asked for him and you didn't want anything to do with me."

"Jeff…"

"He was the one you wanted, not me." Oh…now it all makes sense.

"So that's why you got angry. That's why you were slamming doors and being an ass to me." I laughed. "That's too funny. Hold on, did you punch the wall outside the door?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. I'll have it fixed as soon as your better."

"Take your time, Jeff. This is your house. It's not my place to demand that you do anything to it."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. This is your house too. I want you to live here with me from now on. I want this to be _our_ home, love." I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. No one had ever offered me something like this. Oh, well, my boyfriend in college offered to let me move out of the dorm and in with him cause he had 'plenty of room'. But this wasn't the same. I knew he just wanted me close by so he didn't have to drive over to the campus to pick me up. Jeff wanted to make a life with me. He wanted me to be happy and I was. I was happy with him. Jeff misinterpreted my silence. "Well, we don't have to live in _this_ house, love. I'll build you a brand new house. Or we can find one that you like. I don't really care where we live as long as I'm with you." I leaned in and kissed him.

"I love this house and I love you, Jeff. I'd be so happy to live here with you." I kissed him again. Jeff buried his hand in my hair as the kiss became beyond heated. Jeff rolled me so that I was under him.

"Love?" He said against my throat. His free hand was working my t-shirt up.

"Yes?" I moaned. He kissed me and lifted his head to look at my face. He smiled.

"You wanna give feeding another shot?" I smiled back.

"Yes, yes I do."

**I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=**


	9. Chapter 9

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to xAngelofHardyx, RoseanneMay, Luna, Lady-Sony, Ms. Chandy, SwtPoison, extremechaingangenigma and Queen Of Extreme Kate. You guys rock!!! \m/ (.) \m/ Enjoy! (Oh, and by the way, I'm a huge Shane McMahon fan.)  
**

Of course, the second time I fed worked out **so **much better than the first. I was more prepared for my body's (and Jeff's body's) reaction. We worked out all the kinks. Jeff spent the next few days teaching me almost all I needed to know. We found out that I didn't have the ability to vanish. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed about that. Jeff thought that if I worked for awhile at it, maybe, I could get it.

My first venture out of the house was to my first 'vamp' doctor's appointment with Dr. Dave. He went over all the changes that my body went through. Everything still worked pretty much the same. The only differences were that for a few more days, I was on a strict 'liquid' diet and then I could try and eat solid foods again. Also, for awhile, my eyes would be extremely sensitive to bright lights. Finally, my fangs. He told me it would be a good 6 months before I would be able to retract them completely. The only other difference was that once Jeff and I were trued, conditions would have to be exactly right and perfect for me to get pregnant. I laughed at him. I told him he was _way_ jumping the gun. He smiled telling me that it was fated, just like the fact that Jeff and I were meant to be together, how many children we would have and when we would have them. We could actively try to have kids all we wanted, but until the fates were ready, we wouldn't get pregnant. Well, I guess that took all the fun out of planning.

Jeff and I decided that we would keep our secret jealousies between the two of us. No one else really needed to know. A couple of weeks later, when Jeff called a meeting, we were putting them to the test. It would be the first time that all of us would be in the same room, together, since the attack and I had gotten better.

We were sitting downstairs in Jeff's office. I was kinda nervous for some reason. It was like this was the first 'party' I had thrown since officially moving in with Jeff. I had asked Bessy, Jeff's (now, our) housekeeper, to help me make some snacks for everyone to munch on at the meeting. Bessy had been the housekeeper for Jeff's family ever since he was a little boy. (Yes, she was a vampire.) Jeff sat with us in the kitchen while we worked earlier.

"Love, you know you don't have to make anything. I wish you would relax. It's not that big of a deal." I stopped what I was doing and walked over to where he was sitting. I leaned in to kiss him.

"I know I don't have to," Jeff yanked me down into his lap, "but I want to." He kissed my neck.

"Bessy, tell her she doesn't have to do this." Jeff said, still kissing. Bessy laughed.

"I'm not stupid Jeffrey. I will not cross the would-be Queen. You know that she runs this house and not you right?" Jeff laughed.

"Yeah, I know."

Like I said earlier, Jeff and I were sitting in his office, waiting for everyone to arrive. He was sitting behind his desk working on something and I was pacing around the room. I don't know why I was so nervous, but I was. It wasn't like I didn't know these people. Maybe the nervousness was about what he was going to tell them.

"I wish you would sit down, love. You're making me worry about you. I don't like to see you stress out over nothing." I walked over to his desk. I walked behind it and hopped up to sit on one empty corner. I crossed my legs and swung my foot lightly.

"I'm sorry. Just nervous energy." Jeff grinned. He laid his hand on my upper thigh.

"Well, we have a few minutes before they get here. And I know a good way to burn of some of that energy." I smiled back.

"And what would that be your majesty?" He stood up and stepped in front of me. He uncrossed my legs and pushed them apart enough so that he could step in between them. I leaned back on my hands as he grabbed my hips and pulled me up against him. I crossed my ankles behind his thighs, holding him in place.

"I think it's best to show you, love." I nodded in agreement. He leaned in, placing his hands beside mine. He kissed me. I lifted a hand off the table to wrap my arm around his neck. "Here or upstairs, love?" Jeff asked as the hand he had on my hip gripped tighter. I let my head fall back as he kissed the base of my throat.

"Here, Jeff, here," I moaned. Jeff's hand went for the button on my jeans. He popped it open just as his phone started to ring. He smoothed a hand up my stomach under my shirt. "Are you gonna answer that, baby?"

"No, they'll call back." I hooked a leg over Jeff's hip as the ringing stop. "See?" Jeff started to push me back on the desk when the knocking on the office door started. "Shit! Why do they have to be on time? We can make them wait, love. We can vanish upstairs…"

"Baby, why don't we just do this, get it over with and then you and I can spend the rest of the night," I looked down to where his hips were laying tight against mine, "taking care of 'pressing' matters." I kissed him. "Okay, baby?" He nodded.

"Okay, love." He stepped back and helped me off the desk. We fixed our clothing and Jeff took his seat behind his desk (for obvious reasons). I walked over to the door and let Maggie, Randy, John and Matt in. They all found seats and went right for the food I had made. I motioned to Jeff behind their backs that the food was a good idea. He smiled and nodded, conceding that I was right. "Alright, now that everyone's here," Jeff started. I took a seat on the couch between Maggie and Matt. Matt draped his arm around me. I leaned into him. Jeff didn't even bat an eyelash. He trusted his brother above everyone. Now, if it had been John, he might have had something to say, even though he knows I don't feel like that about him. "So, none of Taker's men know that Sophi's okay. My source says that they all think she's dead." His eyes flashed black quickly and then back to their normal shade. "I haven't been in the public eye recently either, so that is just adding fuel to the 'Queen's dead' theory. Well, I think it's time that I introduce Sophi to everyone and show Taker and his men that they can't take away our Queen." Everyone nodded in agreement. Jeff went on to explain that he and I were going to the party being held in his honor at the hotel the next night. Jeff had donated a large sum of money to a few of the local charities in town and they wanted to honor him. He had begged them not to, but they insisted. He volunteered to have it at the hotel and pay for everything. It wasn't a formal tux and evening gown kind of party, just nice casual.

"Sophi and I are going to be seen everywhere together. When the media asks, cause I know they will," he gave Matt a fake angry look, "we'll tell them the truth. That we have been together for over a year and just didn't want our private life to be public news. Okay, with that out of the way. I have one more thing to share with you and then I'll let you all get on with your night. In two weeks we're opening the new club downtown, which," he looked at Randy, "we still need a name for."

"Yeah, I know. I've been trying to come up with something." Randy said.

"Umm…I have an idea for a name." Maggie said. Jeff waved her on.

"Let's hear it Maggie." He said.

"Well, what about 'SJ'?"

"What does 'SJ' stand for?" I asked. She smiled and nudged me with her elbow.

"Sophi and Jeff. It's ambiguous enough that no one will know what it means but they'll still like it." Jeff grinned at Maggie.

"That's a wonderful name. Good Job, Maggie." Oh, no. I felt that little spurt of jealousy flair up. I knew that he was just thanking her, but I wish he didn't have to smile at her like that. Okay, breathe Sophi. He doesn't mean anything by it. "Now that we have that settled, the night before we have the opening, I have a few bordering Kings coming into town. They have been having some similar problems with Taker and we are going to try and coordinate some things so if we get the chance, we can take him out. They will be either staying here with Sophi and I or they will be staying at the hotel downtown. They will be attending the opening with us and then the next night we will have our meeting." Jeff picked up his glass and drained the remaining liquid. He looked at me. "Love, would you mind running to the kitchen and getting me some more." I stood up and walked to his desk.

"Not at all." I took the glass. "I'll be back in a sec." I pulled the door shut behind me. I walked into the kitchen to find Bessy there washing up. "Bessy, what are you still doing here? You don't have to be here this late. You can go. I can clean this up later." She smiled at me.

"I don't mind Ms. Sophi. I love taking care of you and Jeffrey. I don't have anyone waiting on me at home. My husband is visiting his sister and my kids are all grown and on their own. I don't mind staying at all." I walked over to her and hugged her shoulders.

"Thanks for staying. Now, don't take this the wrong way Bessy, but you remind me so much of my grandmother. She used to let me and Maggie have our independence but was always right behind the scenes, taking care of us. She did so much for us without asking for anything in return." Bessy smiled at me.

"Ms. Sophi, that's a wonderful complement. I've heard you talking about her and I take no offense to that what's so ever." I hugged her again. She filled up Jeff's glass and handed it back to me.

"Thanks Bessy." I took the glass and headed back to the office. I opened the door and everyone went quiet. Nice, they had been talking about me. I walked over to Jeff and set the glass in front of him.

"Thank you, love." He smiled, taking a sip. I looked at everyone else in the room. They were all smiling at me. Okay, what had they been talking about? I wasn't worried, I would get it out of Jeff later. I took my seat back beside Matt. Jeff talked for a few more minutes about what was going to happen in the next couple of weeks. "Okay, that's all I have for you guys tonight. Do you guys have anything else you want to talk about?" Everyone shook their heads 'no'. "Alright, y'all are free to go." They told Jeff and I that they would see us tomorrow at the party. Randy and Maggie were going as guests. John and Matt were going in a wok capacity. They were both covering the story for the paper. The moment they vanished from the room, Jeff walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Love," Jeff moved the hair away from my neck to kiss at it, "I think we should finish what we started earlier." I turned in his arms. I kissed him.

"I think that's a wonderful idea."

Later that night, Jeff and I were laying in bed. I was laying on my stomach with my arms tucked up under my pillow. I was almost asleep when I felt Jeff lean up on an elbow. He laid a soft kiss against the back of my shoulder. He slowly stroked his hand up and down my naked, exposed back.

"Love, can I ask you something?" He asked me, kissing my back. I looked at him over my shoulder.

"Sure, baby." I smiled lazily at him.

"Will you become trued to me?" I opened my eyes wide in surprise. I knew it would happen someday but I never expected it would happen this soon. So this had been what Jeff was talking to the others about earlier.

"Jeff…" He stopped me.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He rolled over, pulling open the nightstand drawer. He rolled back over holding out a beautiful, 3-carat, round cut diamond ring. "Will you marry me too?" I rolled up on my side to face him. I smiled at him as I felt my eyes fill up. "Well, love?" I nodded as the tears spilled over.

"Yes, Jeff, yes!" He smiled. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. He slipped the ring on my finger and pulled me against his chest.

"You don't know how afraid I was that you were going to say 'no'. I've only been afraid two times in my life. Once when you got hurt and just now when you didn't answer immediately." I kissed his chest.

"I'm sorry. You just surprised me. I knew someday we would be trued, I just wasn't expecting it right now." He smiled and tucked some hair behind my ear.

"If I could have, I would have trued you on the day that we met, love. I knew if I dropped that kind of information on you that day, you would have run as fast as you could down the sidewalk in the opposite directions. I had just found you and I really didn't want to lose you." I laughed and kissed his chest again.

"I'm not gonna lie, I would have run just like I did that night that you _actually_ told me. Then we wouldn't be here right now," I kissed him, "would we?" He smiled back.

"No, we wouldn't." He kissed me. I laid my head down on his chest. I looked at the beautiful ring that he had just given me.

"Jeff, you know you didn't have to buy me a ring, right? Believe me, I'm not being ungrateful. It's beautiful, but I would have married you without it. Wait, why did you ask me to marry you? Isn't being trued just like that?" He rubbed my bare shoulders.

"I know I didn't have to but I wanted everyone to know that you're mine and we're gonna be together forever." He kissed the top of my head. "Truing is like marriage but it's more personal. It's just between you and me. I asked you to marry me because I remember that you weren't born a vampire, love. I want you to have a wedding." He ran his fingers through my hair. "I want you to have the wedding you always wanted to have. You can have anything you want, love." I sat up so that I could look into his face.

"Anything I want?" I threw a leg over his hip and sat up across his waist. I laid my hands on his chest and leaned into kiss his neck. "Anything, baby?" He caressed his hands up my thighs to my hips. He groaned as I grazed his neck with my fangs.

"Yes, love. Anything."

The party the next night was surprisingly a lot of fun. I did feel like the spotlight was on me all night instead of Jeff. And just as Jeff predicted, we fielded quiet a few questions about our relationship. I stayed as close to Jeff as I could all night. Every time he stopped to speak to someone, one of the nosey women in the crowd would try and get me away from Jeff so they could get the gossip on him.

I couldn't help but laugh later on, when we were eating dinner. Two young ladies, a table away, were talking about me. One of them was very much enamored with Jeff and was pissed that I was here with him. She was going to make a play for him tonight but I screwed that up. I laughed when she called me a gold-digging, trailer-trash whore. I thought it was funny that she admitted that she was gonna go for Jeff for his money. Would she be even more pissed if she knew I didn't want any of it? Sometimes, vampire hearing was so much fun.

The evening wrapped up with Jeff giving a speech. He told why he chose these charities over any other ones. He ended the speech by saying, "The one they should be thanking tonight would have to be my beautiful fiancée, Sophi. She was the one that inspired me. She told me, 'what's the use in having all this money, if you don't do something useful with it." I think he was trying to make me cry.

The write up in the paper was really good. I thought that Matt and John's combined effort was great. At least the pictures that they picked for the story were nice. Now, that Jeff and I had gone public with our relationship, we were seen everywhere together. I was going out more now, than I have ever in my life.

I told Jeff that I decided I wanted a small wedding. Just him and me (obviously), Randy, Maggie, John and Matt. I thought we could have it at home. Jeff just smiled, kissed me and repeated, 'whatever you want, love.'

Before we knew it, time had flown by and it was the night before the 'SJ' opening. It was also the night that the four boarding Kings were coming into town. Jeff never talked to me about them, but I did know that one was coming from the city that Maggie and I used to live in before we came here. We also went to college in that city. Damn, if I had known there were vampires in that city, I might have gone looking for them.

We were sitting in the diner waiting for the last King to show up. Oddly enough, he was the one from our old city. The other three Kings decided they would prefer to stay at the hotel and not impose on Jeff and I. It was after hours so the shades were pulled so no one could see people vanishing in and out. Maggie decided to stay with Randy. They were sitting at the counter. John and I were sitting across from Jeff and Matt. We were talking about the upcoming night when Jeff got a text. He opened it and shook his head.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"I should have known. As many times as the dumb ass has been here and he doesn't remember what the place looks like. I have to send him a picture." He lifted his phone to take the picture. "Maybe I shouldn't have you in the picture, love." I leaned over into John.

"I'm sorry."

"It's probably best if you don't put her in the picture. I'm sure you don't want Shane vanishing on top of Sophi." Randy said, laughing. Jeff's face got dark.

"You're right about that. Damn, I need a better shot." He slid out of the booth to get a better picture. I leaned in to Matt and John.

"Okay, so what's with this Shane guy? Jeff doesn't seem to like him very much." John laughed.

"That's an understatement."

"Ever since they were younger, they have made everything between them a competition. Who had the better city? Who had the best looking girl? Oh, sorry Soph." Matt said.

"That's okay." I patted his hand. "So why invite him if he doesn't like him?" I watched Jeff take his picture and send it. He stood there and waited for him.

"Because Shane McMahon is one of the biggest allies we have." My heart literally stopped beating for a second. Did he just say what I think he said? This time, Matt patted my hand. "Sophi? Are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost." I waved him off.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I kept telling myself that I needed to calm down. McMahon was a pretty common last name. Yeah, but what were the odds it would be combined with the first name Shane, which just happened to be the name of my ex-boyfriend. Come on, what are the odds that it was the same Shane McMahon?

"Finally, Shane! What took you so damn long?" Jeff said, drawing my attention back to him and the new arrival. Oh shit! It turns out the odds were pretty damn good. It was my Shane. I dropped my gaze to the table and started to play with my drink. Maggie walked over to ask if he wanted anything. She hadn't seen him come in.

"Hi, can I get…you…any…thing?" She drew out the sentence as she instantly recognized him. He looked up at her.

"Uh…no, I'm fine. Thanks." I could tell by the tone of his voice that he recognized her too. She walked back to sit by Randy. I didn't look at her cause I knew that would give it away. I could hear Jeff and Shane talking back and forth. It turned out that Jeff hadn't seen Shane since about 5 years ago, when Shane broke up with some girlfriend that he had been dating for awhile and needed to get out of town. Oh God, that was me!

"So did you ever see that girl again?" Jeff asked him.

"No, but I wish I did. She moved away a couple of days before I got back." I knew he was saying all of this loud enough so that Maggie could hear. He knew how close we were. "She was really something. I really cared about her. Everyday we were together, I wished I'd get that feeling that she was my kept, but it never came." Oh God, oh God, oh God. I didn't realize that I had been quietly chanting that to myself. John nudged me with his elbow.

"What's wrong?" He whispered to me.

"Nothing."

"Really? Come on…"

"Umm, I know Shane. Do you think Jeff's gonna be mad?"

"Mad about what?" Matt asked.

"The fact that…Shane…he's my ex-boyfriend."

"What?!?" John said loudly, making everyone turn and look at him. Matt shook his head.

"Like John said earlier, that's an understatement." John nodded in agreement.

"Oh, before we head to the house, I want you to meet my kept." Oh shit! Those were the words I had been dreading since Shane vanished in here. Jeff waved his hand to me. I shook my head 'no'. He waved his hand again. My stomach felt like it was a lead ball in my body. I knew this wasn't going to turn out well. I stood up and walked to the table. "Shane, I want you to…" Shane's eyes went huge as he looked up at me.

"Oh my God. Sophi?" He stood up. He pulled me in for a hug that I didn't return. "God, Sophi. It's been, what, 5 years since I saw you. God, you look amazing. Do you live in this town now?" He sat back down. I nodded. "Damn, what are the odds?" Pretty damn good, I guess. "Jeff, you really know how to pick your employees. This one's amazing. She's a keeper. And she definitely needs a raise." He winked at me.

"You two know each other?" Jeff asked. Shane let a cocky smile spread across his face.

"Oh yeah, we know each other. We used to date. So, Jeff, where is this kept of yours?" I could see that Jeff's eyes where turning dark. This was so going to be a flight later.

"Sophi is my kept." Shane choked on his own air.

"She's your kept?" He looked at me and I nodded. "Damn, Jeff. You got yourself a winner here. She's one hell of a girl." The tone and implications in Shane's voice made Jeff slam his fist down on the table, rattling everything on top of it.

"I think it's time we left. Do you remember what my house looks like Shane?" Jeff asked. He was _so_ not happy.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Why don't you meet us there?" Shane stood up.

"Okay. I've got to go grab my bags. I'll be there in a couple of hours." He winked at me again and vanished.

"Jeff…" I said his name and went to touch his shoulder. He pulled away and stood up.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow night." Jeff said and grabbed my upper arm, none too lightly. He vanished us back to our house, in our room. He let me go so abruptly and I wasn't prepared. I stumbled and caught myself on the edge of the bed. I turned around to find Jeff with his back to me. I walked up to him.

"Jeff, please look at me." I laid a hand on his back. Again he shrugged me off. He turned around. His eyes were really dark.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what Jeff? I didn't know Shane was the other King you were waiting on."

"How long were you together?"

"Two years." He clinched his fists at his side.

"You were together…did you sleep with him Sophi?" I wanted to cry.

"Yes. Jeff, please…" He turned away from me and started to pace the room.

"And you told me that you didn't know that vampires existed. Yet you had been having sex with one for two damn years."

"Jeff, I didn't know. He never brought it up and he never bit me." He stopped in front of me.

"How could you not know?"

"We dated for 4 months before I knew with you." He turned away again. "Jeff, please don't be like this. I didn't even know you then. You know I don't care about him." I stepped in front of him. I put my hands on his chest. "I love you. Not him, you. I really don't even want to be anywhere near me. I just want you. Just you." He grabbed both of my hands and pulled them away from his chest.

"I really want to believe you." He let go of my hands and stepped back. "I…I need sometime to think." I started to cry.

"Jeff…" He vanished. I walked over and sat on the bed. I never thought he would be so upset about an ex-boyfriend. Granted, this one was a vampire. And not to mention he was a King that Jeff had a rivalry since they were kids. I looked at the clock on the nightstand. Jeff had been gone for over an hour. I had been sitting there staring at the wall and crying the whole time. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called him. It went straight to voicemail. I did it three times before I finally left a message telling him that I loved him and to call me. I waited for a few minutes and called him back. He still wasn't answering. I know I called about a hundred times. Now, I was worried. I just needed to know he was safe. I did the only thing I could think of…I called John. I was almost hysterical at this point in my crying. I didn't know where Jeff was and it was killing me. I know I was over reacting, but I couldn't help it. I don't know how John understood a word I said. He answered on the second ring.

_"Hello?"_

"John, it's Sophi." My words were all running together and the sobbing didn't help.

_"Sophi, baby, what's wrong?"_ My breath hitched several times before I could speak.

"Jeff…" That was all I could get out.

_"Baby, where's Jeff?"_

"I don't know." I heard him say a few choice words.

_"I'm coming Sophi. Hold on." _I heard the phone click on the other end. I ran down the stairs to meet him by the front door. That's where they always vanished in to. I hit the bottom steps as John vanished inside of the front door. I ran right into his arms. He wrapped his arms around me holding me tight.

"I don't know where he went John." I kept crying. "He won't answer his phone. Why did he leave?" John rubbed my back softly.

"I don't know, baby. Shh…" he stroked my hair. "I'll find him for you." John kept rubbing my back softly. It was actually calming me down. I felt John lay his cheek against the top of my head. Thank God for John. Outside of Maggie, John was my closet friend. He had always been there for me and I knew he always would be.

"Well, what a scene to pop into." Shane said from behind us. We tried to ignore him. John let me go. I wiped my eyes before looking at Shane. "So, is that how you greet all you guests?" Shane asked, his cocky grin reappearing.

"Shane, please. Do you want me to show you which room is yours?" I asked obviously irritated with him. He stepped towards me.

"I'd _love_ for you to show me the room." He took another step closer. John stepped in front of me. I let out a breath that I hadn't even known I was holding.

"It's the last door on the left, McMahon." John said.

"So, are you supposed to be her _supraveghere_?" Shane asked him.

"Something like that." I touched John's back, silently thanking him. I wanted to yell at Shane and throw him out of our house. He knew the way he said thing had pissed Jeff off. But he didn't care. I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to do anything that would mess up this alliance for Jeff. Standing there, having Shane staring at me, brought back a flood of memories from that night that l ended our relationship. I felt the tears welling up. I'll be damned if I was going to let Shane see me cry over how he made me feel. I really wish Jeff was here. Jeff. I needed to find him.

"Shane…" I started.

"I'm going, honey. I'm going." He looked at John, who was still standing in front of me, in totally bodyguard pose. Then he looked at me. He gave me a smile that used to make my heart melt. Nothing. This time, I felt nothing. 'I'll talk to you later." I didn't even respond. Shane grabbed his bag and walked down the hall. When we heard him shut the door behind himself, John turned around to face me.

"I'm sorry he's like that to you." John said. He reached out and rubbed my arm. "If he wasn't so important to getting rid of Taker, I would have hit him." I gave John a half-ass weak smile. I patted his chest.

"Thank you. That means a lot." He returned my half smile and took a step closer. I stepped into his arms. I laid my head against his chest. Man, Shane must have really made him mad. John's heart was thundering in his chest. "John?" He had resumed rubbing my back softly.

"Yes, baby?"

"Do you know where Jeff is?" His hand hesitated for a millisecond before resuming. Is it that bad that he didn't want to tell me? I lifted my head to look at him. "John, do you?" He sighed deeply.

"I think I have a pretty good idea. I'll go see." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. His lips lingered for a moment before he pressed another kiss. He pulled back and vanished. I walked back and sat on the bottom step. I wrapped my arms around my legs and laid my cheek on my knees. God, I hoped Jeff was okay and hadn't done something stupid and gotten hurt. A few minutes later, John vanished back in front of me. I popped my head up.

"Did you find him?" I stood up. John nodded. He held out his hand to me.

"Come on, baby. I'll take you to him." I took his hand. We vanished into the woods behind the house. From where we were standing, I could hear the creek. "He's right down there." He pulled me in for a hug. "Call me if you need me."

"Okay. Thank you John." I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek. "I love you. Thanks." I turned and walked quietly down to Jeff. He was standing at the edge of the creek with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Jeff?" He turned his head to glance at me.

"What are you doing down here? How did you even know where to find me?" I walked over to stand beside him.

"I made John find you and bring me down here." He just nodded. I closed my eyes, feeling like him nodding and looking away was a rejection. I tried to keep the tears from falling. I failed miserably. I felt them slide out from under my lashes and glided soundlessly down my cheeks. "Jeff, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I never in a million years would have guessed that you knew him. I swear that I didn't know he was a vampire. I swear to you, I didn't know." Jeff hadn't moved or responded to anything that I said. I raised my face up to the sky as the rain started to fall. I looked back at Jeff. "I'm sorry that my previous relationship with Shane changed everything between us. But I want you to know, what I said is still true." The rain had picked up. I was starting to get really wet. "I do love you, Jeff. What I feel for you is more than I've ever felt for anyone in my life. It's more than I'll ever feel for anyone." I paused for a second. "I'm gonna walk back to the house and get a few things. I'll call John and get him to take me to the apartment." I took a step towards him, reaching out to him to touch him. I stopped just short of touching his back. "I love you, Jeff. I'm so sorry." I turned away. I took a few steps.

"Sophi, don't go." I turned back around. He was still watching the creek. "I'm the asshole here. I'm the one that should be apologizing." He turned around to face me. He walked the few steps towards me. I noticed that the rain had completely soaked his shirt, molding it to his body. "_I'm_ sorry. This whole thing changes nothing between us. I'm sorry I reacted that way. It's just that…Shane's always been one…okay, I was just pissed that it was him first and not me." He stepped closer, so that now we were just a breath away from each other. "The thought of another guy touching you, loving you, makes me crazy." He laid his hand on my cheek.

"Jeff, I…" He kissed me softly.

"You're my everything, love. Please, don't leave me. It doesn't matter where you go, I'll follow you. I need you, love. Please, I love you. Please, love, don't leave me." I wrapped my arms around him. I kissed him.

"Jeff, I don't want to be anywhere that isn't close to you. I'll never leave you. I love you, baby." He kissed me, pulling me tight against his body. He deepened the kiss. Despite the cold, pouring rain, I was on fire. I wasn't even aware that we had been moving until my back came up against a large tree. Jeff pulled away.

"I'm so sorry, love. I want," he started to kiss down my throat, "the chance to prove that I'm better than him." He said against my neck. He nipped at the muscle between my neck and shoulder, pulling a moan from me.

"Jeff…you are. You are better than he will ever be." He kissed around the open collar of my button-down shirt that was now drenched, it was molded to me like a second skin. Jeff's hand skimmed down my ribs, over my hip to grab my thigh. He lifted it to his own hip, giving himself more access to rub his hips closer to mine. I moaned as he pressed me tightly against the tree. "Yes…" I answered his unspoken question. He kissed me with a molten heat. I was surprised that we didn't both go up in flames. He started to work at the buttons of my shirt. My shirt was so wet that they were not cooperating at all. While Jeff was struggling with my buttons, I was working my hands under the back of his t-shirt. I was more successful. I pealed his shirt up and over his head. I heard it slap wetly against a tree as I tossed it away. I ran my hands down his rain streaked back. Jeff lifted his head from where he was kissing the side of my neck.

"Fuck this." He grabbed the open collar of my shirt on either side and yanked it open. Buttons flew everywhere. "I'm sorry, love." He kissed me.  
"I don't care. It's just a shirt."

"No, about the whole thing with Shane." He forced his hands in between my shirt and my skin to caress my back. "I was stupid to think you still wanted him. If you did," he bent his head and licked some of the rain that had started to run down my chest, making me moan his name, "then," he kissed his way back up to my mouth, "you wouldn't be here with me." He kissed me. "I love you so much, Sophi. I'm sorry that I acted like a jealous ass. I should have known better and trusted what you where telling me." The whole time he had been making his apology speech, his hands had been slowly working my plastered shirt off of me. He kissed me. "I want to make it up to you. I'm willing to do anything, love." I smiled as I caressed my hand down his rain covered chest. He sucked in his breath sharply as I wedged my hand inside the top of his jeans.

"Are you?" He nodded. I smiled at him. "Vanish us to our bed and prove it, baby." We were instantly in our room.

"With pleasure, love."

Later that night, I gently lifted Jeff's arm off of me and slipped quietly out of the bed. I walked into the bathroom and grabbed my long red robe off the door to the bedroom. I tied the sash in a bow as I made my way down to the kitchen. Jeff had made me work up quiet an appetite. I walked into the kitchen looking for something small that I could take upstairs with me. I spotted a bowl of apples sitting by the sink. Perfect. I grabbed the red one off the top. I washed it in the sink and took the apple slicer out of the drawer. I got a plate down out of the cabinet. I walked over to the fridge and grabbed two cold bottles of water. I set them beside the plate while I sliced the apple. I tossed the core into the trash. I heard Jeff's bare feet as he walked into the kitchen. I didn't even bother to turn around. I took a bite of one of the apple slices. I set it back down on the plate when Jeff wrapped his arms around me. I leaned back against his chest. He dropped his head and nuzzled my neck, laying a few soft kisses against it. I dropped my head to my shoulder, giving him full access.

"You taste just as good as I remember, honey." I froze. I pushed Shane's arms away and turned around to face him. I clutched my robe lapels tightly together.

"Shane! What the hell are you doing in here?" I started loudly but quieted myself down, remembering Jeff was still asleep.

"I heard you walk in here." He stepped back up to me. I leaned back against the counter.

"What if I had been Jeff?" He grinned.

"I heard you humming quietly to yourself. I knew it was you." He leaned into me, I laid a hand on his bare chest to stop him from coming closer. "That's not the only thing I heard. I heard you."

"You heard me? Heard me doing what?" He pushed a little closer.

"I heard you and Jeff. I heard every sigh, every moan, every damn cry you made, honey. What happened? You used to make those noises for me." Shane placed a hand on the counter on either side of my hips, caging me in. I leaned back some more.

"Shane, you know what happened. You know why I left."

"Honey, that's the past. Now that you know everything, you can come back with me. We can start all over again. I can true you. You can become _my_ Queen. I loved you Sophi." I laughed quietly at him.

"You _loved_ me Shane. That's the keyword, _loved_. I'm not so sure that I even believe that anymore." I pushed him back away from me and surprisingly, he let me. "Did you love me when you were having sex with Megan?"

"Sophi…" I stopped him.

"No, Shane, you hurt me. I really did love you and you crushed me when I found you with her. She was my friend." I was surprised in myself. I was upset, but not as bad as I thought I would be if I ever got the chance to tell Shane how I felt.

"Honey, that doesn't matter now. The past is the past. We should let it go. I still want you." Ah, that was it. I smiled.

"It does matter. It matters to me. You broke my heart back then Shane. I'm also not stupid. I know you don't even really want me for me. You may have back then, but you don't now. You only want me because I'm happy with someone that truly cares about me. He will never do to me what you did. I love Jeff. Nothing you can say or nothing you can offer me will ever make me leave him. He's the best thing to ever happen to me. I'm so happy with him." I pushed Shane away from me.

"Come on, honey…" I shook my head.

"You can stop. It's not gonna work. I'm going to spend the rest of my life with Jeff." Shane sighed.

"Sophi…I'm sorry. I was an idiot. I wish I could make this right." I grabbed my plate and the bottles of water.

"You know what will help? You can stop acting like an ass to Jeff just because you're jealous. You and the other Kings work together with Jeff and make this alliance stronger. Taker has hurt a lot of people. He needs to be taken care of. If Jeff didn't need your help so badly, I would probably ask you to go home, but I'm not going to. I'm gonna be the bigger person here. I'm letting it go." I turned away from Shane and walked out of the kitchen.

I headed back upstairs, not once looking back at Shane. I got to our door, nudged it open with my knee and pushed it shut with my hip. Jeff was sitting up against the headboard with the sheet laying across his lap. He had turned on the light beside him. He smiled at me. Jeff had been waiting for me to come back.

"I brought you a snack." I climbed back in the bed and set the plate in between us. I settled back against the pillow and grabbed a slice of apple. We sat in a comfortable quiet. Jeff finished off the last slice of apple and set the plate on the nightstand. He laid down and patted the bed beside him. I curled up beside him, laying my head on his chest and hooking my leg over his. Jeff moved the hair away from my neck and softly stroked his fingers down it.

"I heard you and Shane in the kitchen." Jeff said quietly to me. I lifted my head. Jeff kept his hand wrapped around the back of my neck.

"Umm…you did?" Jeff smiled and leaned up to kiss my forehead.

"Yeah, and I'm so proud of you. You stood up to him and told him how you feel. As far as I'm concerned, you could have kicked him out of this house for the way he treated you back then. If I had known, I would have swept in there and stolen you away from him." That made me smile. He stroked my cheek. "Tell me the truth, love. Would you rather have Shane back when your relationship was good or me and my moody ass?" I pretended to think about it. I kissed him,

"It would be you and your sexy moody ass every time." Jeff laughed.

"That's what I hoped you'd say."

**I feel so bad about making Shane the asshole. I needed someone that I liked enough to make me feel crapy if he was really this way. I promise, I really do love Shane! I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=**


	10. Chapter 10

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to Ms. Chandy, Queen of Extreme Kate, Lady-Sony, RoseannaMay, extremechaingangenigma, xAngelofHardyx and SavinGrace. You guys rock!!! \m/ (.) \m/ Enjoy! (I'm sorry ahead of timeabout the translation. If anyone read this knows Romanian, I got it from a translation website. I hope it's right.)**

Staring into the endless abyss that Maggie called her closet made me want to rethink this plan that I had. I was not one to own clothes that one would go to a club in, much less a club opening. I was looking for something that was going to make every guy at the club drool, especially Shane, (yes, petty, I know, but he deserves it after what he did to Jeff) and I wanted to set up a small rendezvous for Jeff and I.

"So, what are we looking for Soph?"

"Something that I normally wouldn't wear. I'm thinking a pretty short skirt and a tight fitting top." She smiled.

"Okay, let's see what we've got." For the next hour, Maggie and I searched her closet. Finally, I decided I had a black and red pleated skirt that hit me above mid-thigh. The outside of the pleats were black, but inside the pleat was red. If I moved a certain way, you could see the red. The top, God knows where Maggie got this, was a black leather corset that zipped up the front. It had black lace sleeves that came just past my elbows. The corset was so fitted and supportive, I didn't even have to wear a bra. Extra surprise for Jeff. To top off the outfit, Maggie found me a pair of black heels that had satin ribbons that wrapped around my calves and tied into a bow in the back. "Sophi, you look killer! You are gonna knock 'em out tonight." I looked at myself in the mirror, turning back and forth.

"Are you sure? I really don't care what anyone thinks I look like. I just want Jeff to think it's hot and Shane to drool." Maggie laughed.

"This will totally do it." I smiled at Maggie. She was gonna do a little knocking out tonight herself. She had chosen a shimmery blue sleeveless dress that looked beyond amazing on her. Not surprising, she had shoes to match the dress. I was starting to doubt whether or not I looked okay when there was a knock on Maggie door.

"Ladies, your escort has arrived." John said from the other side.

"Okay, we're coming." Maggie said. "Let's test your outfit on John. Let's see how he likes it." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Might as well." Maggie opened the door and walked out first.

"Damn Mags. You look good. You're gonna make Randy melt into a puddle at your feet tonight." She leaned up and kissed John's cheek.

"Thanks." She pointed at me. "So, what do you think about Sophi's outfit?" John turned his head to look at me standing in the doorway. He just stared. I could see his adam's apple working as he tried to speak.

"John, what do you think?" I asked. I spun around in place giving him a look at the whole outfit. "Well?" He grinned.

"Wow. You look fuckin' amazing. You're gonna kill every guy in that club tonight."

"That's what I told her." Maggie said.

"Well, I'm only looking to knock one guy dead tonight." I told them.

"Trust me, baby," John said, giving me his arm, "this will do the trick."

The three of us vanished into a 'safe room' inside of the club. It was a room in the back where vampire could vanish in and out without being noticed by the general pubic. It had been my idea to put a guard on the door. No way did we want some drunk clubber wander back and find out what was happening in there.

Everyone that worked at the club was either a vampire or someone close enough to them to know the secret. That was one of Jeff's policies. If you were a vampire and needed work, he would find you a job. Since he owned most of the town, odds are there was a place he could use you. Hence, the bartender and four waitresses working the opening tonight. Even the new manager for 'SJ' was a vampire. I had met Phil Brooks a few times. (Jeff had let me sit in on most of the meetings for the club. Matt had come up with the brilliant idea to let me write an inside look at the inner works of Jeff's businesses.) He seemed like a fairly nice guy. We decided to give him a chance at managing this club cause Randy had his hands full, what with running 'Kiss' and 'H' and filling in at the hotel (there were some problems with Bob and he had been put on leave for a month or two).

We walked into the fairly empty club. There were some last minute things happening but for the most part, it was pretty quiet. The DJ was testing out some of the equipment, so every once and a while, you would get a snippet of a song. I saw Jeff, Randy, Shane and Matt sitting up in the VIP section. They were the best seats in the house.

John Maggie and I made our way across the dance floor and up the stairs to VIP. They all looked up when we hit the top step. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shane's mouth drop open at the sight of me. Good, it was working. I put a little extra wiggle in my walk as I made my way past him. I stopped in front of Jeff and bent over to kiss him.

"Hi, baby." He grinned and kissed me.

"You know you're killing him, right?" He whispered to me.

"Good." I took the seat next to him and tucked myself really close to his side. He laid his hand on the bare skin of my thigh near the bottom of my skirt. Jeff rubbed my skin with his whole hand. I knew he was doing that for Shane's viewing pleasure. Normally, he would just stroke with his thumb.

They went back to the conversation they were having before we got there as the other Kings (some with their kept) filtered in. Jeff and Randy left right as the last King made his appearance. They went to let some of the media in the front door. They were going to do a little press and then let in the masses. They met Phil at the door. John and Maggie were standing with the Kings on one side of the balcony. I was kinda by myself, watching Jeff. I could hear the speech he had stayed up writing. My heart was bursting with my pride for him. I smiled down at him when I saw him quickly glance up at me. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye as Shane came to stand beside me.

"Why did you do it?" Shane leaned in and ask me. I turned to look at him.

"Do what, Shane?" I asked.

"Come on, honey. Does he make you dress like that? Is that what gets him going?" I shook my head at him.

"Shane, you're ridiculous. You know better than that. It doesn't matter what I wear, it all gets him going." Was I taunting him?, yes, but come on, he started it.

"Why are we doing this Sophi?" He stepped closer to me. "Why are you denying that you still want me just as much as I want you?" He stepped closer. My back came up against the wall when I tried to get some distance between the two of us.

"Shane, I don't want you. You made me stop wanting you five years ago. You need to back up. I don't want you this close to me." He grinned and leaned into me.

"Are you sure I don't need to be?"

"Step back McMahon." Shane stopped moving at the sound of John's voice. He took two steps back, holding his hands in defense.

"No problem here Cena. Just talking to the Queen." He turned and walked back over to the rest of the group.

"You okay?" John asked me. He laid a hand on my upper arm. I nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks." He rubbed my arm softly.

"My job remember?" I looked back down at Jeff when I heard him ask if the media had any questions. They went on to ask questions like, 'What's 'SJ' stand for?; 'What's the club theme?; inane questions like that.

"So, Mr. Hardy, where is your fiancée, Sophi tonight?" One of the reporters asked. I saw him smile.

"She's right up there," he pointed up to me, "waiting on me to finish up with you guys." The crowd, as a whole, turned to look at me. I waved as the flashbulbs started to go off. I saw Jeff wink at me and mouth, 'I love you.' I smiled back and blew him a kiss.

When the press conference was over, Jeff and Randy made their way back upstairs. Jeff took his seat beside me as the club started to fill up. I leaned in and kissed him.

"Your speech was great baby."

"Thank you, love." He kissed me. "I had this really great writer helping me write it." I snuggled in closer to him.

"Really? What's his name?" I was totally rubbing my body against him. Almost like a cat in heat. At least I wasn't purring at him. Well, not yet anyway. He laid his hand back on my thigh as I crossed my legs again. This time I laid my calf over his knee. I was as close to him as possible with out sitting in his lap.

"I would tell you her name but she's pretty hot," he stroked the inside of my thigh, "and I don't want you to get jealous." That made me laugh. I leaned in and kissed his neck.

"Do you really think I'm hot?" I whispered to him.

"You're damn right I do." I kissed his neck again. "If we were alone right now…" I whispered to me, exactly what we would be doing. That so gave me ideas for later. The conversation started to pick up around us and we just joined right in. Jeff kept rubbing my thigh the whole time. It was starting to have an effect on me. Everyone sitting with us at some point, ventured down to the dance floor and back. Shane went down and was gone for awhile. He made his way back just in time to see me start to put my plan into effect. I stood up in front of Jeff. I held my hand out to him.

"Come dance with me, baby." He took my hand and kissed it.

"Love, you don't like to dance." I gave him a fake pout.

"Please Jeffy. For me?" He smiled.

"Okay, love." He stood up and let me lead him to the dance floor. Jeff followed close behind me as I led him out to the center of the crowded floor. I added that extra wiggle, cause I knew that he was totally looking. He smiled at him when I turned around to face him. I laid my arms around his neck as I pressed my body close to his. His hands went to my hips, holding me close. I let Jeff lead. He started to move us to the music. We didn't say anything to each other, not that you would have been able to hear it anyway. The music was almost deafening. I could feel every beat of the bass in my entire body. I turned around and Jeff pressed himself up against my back. His hands went right back to my hips. I found myself moving my hips a little more than normal where they were pressed tight against Jeff's. By the end of the song, could feel the effect that they were having on him. He was _so_ ready. I felt Jeff nudge the hair away from my neck as he pressed a searing kiss on my pulse. I buried my fingers in his hair as he continued to kiss my neck. My plan was working great. Oh, yeah. I had a plan. Focus, Sophi! You're on a dance floor full of people.

I stepped away form Jeff and grabbed his hand. I pulled him in the direction of his office. I walked over to the door, punched the code into the keypad and pulled Jeff in the door behind me. When the door shut, it drown out 90% of the sounds from the dance floor. We walked down the short hall to his office. I pushed him inside, shut and locked the door behind me, drowning out even more sound. I took his hand again and led him over to his desk. I pushed him (and he totally let me) down into his nice, plush, black leather desk chair. I leaned in and kissed him. Before Jeff could deepen the kiss as he so obviously wanted to do, I stepped back away from him. I took a few steps back so he could watch. I worked my hands under my skirt, trying not to flash anything at Jeff. I started to wiggle myself out of my panties. I wiggled them off my hips and let them fall the rest of the way down my legs. Jeff never moved but his eyes followed my every movement. I stepped out of my panties and left them there on the floor. I sauntered back to where Jeff was sitting. Jeff's eyes were burning with an Emerald fire. His hands had serious grip on the armrests of his chair. He was holding himself back. He was trying to let me do whatever it was I was going to do. I smiled.

I laid a hand on either of his shoulders and wedged a knee beside his legs and sat down astride his lap. Jeff's hands instantly went to my hips. I kissed him as my hands slid down his chest to the buttons of his shirt. I undid them quickly, revealing his naked chest. I started caressing his chest as I kissed his neck. His grip on my hips got tighter when my hands got to the top of his pants. I let one hand slip away from his abs to cup him through his pants. He jerked his hips in response.

"Sophi…" Jeff breathed in my ear. I nipped at his neck, making him moan. God, this power I had over him was so heady. I could do this all night.

"Jeff," I looked back at him, "last night you wanted me to think that you were better than Shane." I kissed him. "Well, I do." I started to lower the zipper on his pants. "Now, _I_ want the chance," he groaned as I freed him form his pants, "to prove to you," I kissed him while I caressed him, making him groan against my lips, "that you are." I kept kissing him and started to lower my body down on his length, agonizingly slowly. I think I was trying to kill us both.

I threw my head back and arched my back as our hips met. I made both of us moan as I rock my hips against Jeff's.

"Love…" Jeff was already breathing hard. His hands were now gripping my naked hips under my skirt. I started to raise myself up and slowly lower myself down. Jeff grunted every time our hips met. He leaned in and kissed my collarbone as his hands on my hips helped me find a quicker pace. I moaned his name as I started to feel that amazing pressure low in my stomach.

"Not yet…love…no." He panted. He pulled me down tight against him. He kissed me while he stood up. He sat me back down on the desk. He released one hip and shoved the few things off the top of it to the floor. Jeff pushed me back and hovered over me. He grinned down at me. "I'm not done with you yet, love." Jeff kissed me and started to rock himself in and out of my body. I moaned against his mouth. He kept a steady pace while he unzipped my top. "Ah…fuck me, Sophi." He moaned. He had parted my top and revealed the fact that I wasn't wearing anything under it. I reached up, buried my hands into his hair and pulled his head down to mine. I smiled.

"I thought that's what I was doing." He kissed me. I slipped my hands in between his shirt and his skin, dragging my nails across his back. He made a noise that sounded like a growl. He quickened his pace. His thrusts were coming so hard and fast, I had to wrap my legs around his hips just so I could keep the pace. I started to feel the build up again. I was close but I knew what would take me over. I removed my hands from under his shirt to bury my fingers in his hair again.

"Jeff." I wanted to say his name, but it totally came out as a moan. He raised his head from where he had been hovering around my pulse. I could feel from Jeff's movements that he was on the brink of release as well.

"Love?" He groaned when I flexed my nails into his scalp.

"Bite me…" I moaned. He didn't question anything. I felt him flick his tongue across my pulse an instant before he bit me. I screamed out his name in pleasure the moment his fangs sank in. Jeff only got one deep pull on my vein before his release took him over as well.

Jeff dropped his head to press a few kisses below my collarbone. He laid his forehead there to try and catch his breath. I tried to slow down my breathing. Every time I inhaled and my chest rose, it brushed the tips of my extremely sensitive breasts against him chest. It was driving me crazy. As much as I wouldn't mind another round of that mind-blowing sex, I felt like I needed just few moments of recovery time. Jeff lifted his head a few seconds later. He grinned and kissed me.

"I love you, Sophi." I kissed him back.

"I love you too, baby." Jeff pulled me up to a sitting position, still kissing me. I still had my legs wrapped around his waist. He wrapped a hand around the back of my neck, while the other hand caressed my thigh. I guess as a vampire, recovery time was pretty short. I started to push his shirt off his shoulders but stopped when I heard the knock on the door.

"Jeff? I'm sorry to interrupt, " Randy started, "but we have an issue." Jeff kissed me before yelling at Randy.

"This better be fuckin' good, Orton." Jeff went right back to kissing my jaw. I heard Randy say something to someone outside.

"It is Jeff." He paused. "Miz, Adam and Jay just walked in the front door." The heat that had been flowing between us was suddenly frozen as fear on my end over took it.

"Okay, just a second Randy." Jeff called out to him. Jeff stepped back away from me and turned his back. I didn't say anything, I just zipped my top back up and stayed sitting on the desk. Jeff zipped up his pants and turned back around to face me. He started buttoning his shirt. I stared at his chest. "Love?" I tied to thing of something to say, but nothing would come out. No one had seen or heard from Taker and his men since the attack on me a couple months ago. I was scared that they were in the building. I had tired to put it out of my mind but here it was right in front of me again. "Love?" I jumped when Jeff touched my face. "Sophi? Love, are you okay?" I nodded and tried for a smile.

"Yes, baby, I'm okay." He leaned in and kissed me lightly.

"No, you're not. I'm gonna let them hurt, love. You know that, right?" I nodded again. I reached out and did the last couple buttons for him.

"I know, it's just that…I was hoping that I wouldn't see them again." I leaned my forehead against his chest. "But some things are just too much to hope for, huh?" Jeff smoothed his hand down the back of my head and kissed the top of my head.

"It's okay to be scared, love. I understand why you are. They will never get back here. No one can vanish back here. The doors and walls are lined in lead. Vampires can't get through or destroy lead. It's like our kryptonite. I promise that you'll be fine." I nodded again. He kissed my forehead and helped me off the desk I smoothed my skirt down into place. When I straightened it down in the back, I realized something.

"Umm…Jeff?" I watched him lean over and pick something up off the floor. He turned and smiled at me. He held out my black underwear.

"Looking for these, love?" I smiled and held my hand out for them.

"Yes, thank…" he pulled them away. He shot me grin that was full of wicked promises. He shoved them down in his pocket.

"I'll give them to you later." He leaned in and kissed me walked over to the door as I picked up the few things from his desk that we had knocked off. I set them back on top of the desk and turned around when Jeff opened the door letting Randy, Maggie, John, Matt and Shane inside. He shut the door. Everyone found various seats around the room minus Randy, Jeff and I. I leaned a hip back against the desk. Jeff came over to stand beside me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and rubbed my hip in comfort. "Okay, what's going on Randy?" His voice took on that Kingly tone. God, he was so hot when he got that authoritative air. At least it was getting my mind off being scared for…the…nope, wait, it was still there. I was still scared.

"I got a call from the front door security telling me that he had to let in three guys that insisted that they were personal guests of the King and Queen. They told him they were closely acquainted with Sophi. They were here to see her and have a 'chat' with the King. I spotted them when they got to the bar. I sent the other Kings back to their hotel but McMahon refused to go.

"Where are they right now?" Jeff asked. Randy ran a hand over his hair.

"Still at the bar, I guess. They weren't trying to hid the fact that they were waiting for you." Jeff took a deep breath.

"Okay. John, Shane, I need you to stay back here with Sophi and Maggie. Randy, Matt, you two come with me. John, Randy and Matt nodded, taking their orders. Shane stood up.

"Hardy, I'm not hiding back here like some helpless female, I'm coming…"

"Damn it Shane! Can't you for once just fuckin' work with someone? I don't want to be responsible for your city if it ends up without its King. If something goes down out there I don't want to have to watch out for you." Shane reluctantly gave in and sat back down on the couch. Jeff started to walk away from me. I grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. He turned back to look at me.

"Jeff, is something going to happen out there?" I asked quietly. He rubbed my hand where it was laying on his arm.

"It might. That's why I want you to stay back here, love. I don't want them near you."

"Jeff, they want to kill you." I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tightly. "Don't go out there, Jeff. Please, stay back here with me. Please!" I was about to cry. I was terrified that Jeff was going to get hurt or worse. I couldn't take that. Jeff kissed my forehead.

"I have to, love. They won't leave until I do." I felt a few tears escape.

"Jeff…" He kissed me softly.

"It'll be okay, love. I don't think they'll do anything with all those people out there. They don't want to risk exposure any more than we do." He wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"Then why did you tell Shane…"

"So he would keep his stupid ass back here. I don't need him interfering in this." He whispered to me and kissed my ear. That made me laugh softly. Jeff calling Shane a dumb ass was funny. "I love you. I'll be fine."

"I love you too. Please be careful." He nodded and kissed me. He stepped away towards the door. I saw Randy kiss Maggie. She came to stand beside me. Jeff smiled at me and patted his pocket. I felt my cheeks start to burn when I remembered what was in there. Then they were out the door.

"They'll be okay, Sophi." John said. He stepped up beside me. Maggie wrapped her arm around me. To comfort both of us. I laid my head on John's shoulder.

"I hope so."

We sat there for a little over 10 minutes, which seemed like an eternity, an agonizing eternity, waiting for them to come back. I tried not to make eye contact with Shane. He had been watching me the whole time we had been back here. Oh, could he tell that I wasn't wearing any underwear right now cause they were in Jeff's pants pocket? God, I hoped he could. And I hoped he knew that Jeff and I had been having amazing sex minutes before he walked in. It served him right. I could have been his.

Finally, the door opened and the trio walked in. As soon as Jeff cleared the door, I launched myself into his arms.

"Did you miss me, love?" Jeff whispered in my ear, kissing my cheek and wound his arms around me. I nodded and rubbed my cheek against his.

"If you two can stop playing kissy-face for damn second, I'd like to know what the hell happened out there." Shane said form his seat on the couch. I felt Jeff's back tense and his arms go still around me. Not good. Shane had finally done it. He had said the wrong thing and now Jeff was good and pissed.

"Matt, Randy, go with Maggie and John back to VIP. Tell them what happened. If you want, after that, you're free to go. Sophi and I are done for the night. We'll see you tomorrow." Randy and Matt led the other two out the door. The tension between Jeff and Shane was palpable. This build up with the two of them had been a long time coming. I sucked serious ass that I was the reason it was all coming to a head.

"So, what happened?" Shane asked again. His attitude was pissing Jeff off even more. Jeff let me go so that I was standing by his side. He was ready to hurt Shane. I laid my hand on Jeff's arm, stopping him when he took a step towards him.

"Nothing happened out there. They taunted us and left. They were just making sure that I knew that they hadn't left town." Shane stood up and scoffed at Jeff. "What the fuck is your problem now Shane?" Shane shook his head and gestured to me.

"If you'd stop thinking with your dick for a few minutes, then made you could get control of your city." Jeff took another step forward. I stepped in front of him laying my hands on his chest, stopping him again.

"Jeff, please don't do this. It's not necessary." I heard Shane chuckle behind me. I glanced at him over my shoulder. He had totally misinterpreted my reason for stopping Jeff. He thought I was saving him when I was just saving the alliance. I looked back at Jeff. His eyes were getting dark and I could feel his anger literally vibrating through him. Jeff took a couple of deep breaths and nodded to me, telling me he was trying to calm down. Shane scoffed again.

"See what I mean? Although," he paused and smiled at me, this wasn't going to be good, "when her hot little ass was ridin' mine, I would do anything she asked me too." It was all I could do to keep Jeff form launching himself at Shane. Shane laughed again. "Ha, that's it. That's why you're pissed right now. You're jealous that I tapped it first." Jeff tried to go for him again.

"You mother…"

"That's enough!" I yelled. I had finally hit my breaking point. "Jeff, please calm down. He's just saying these things to make you angry and you are totally feeding in to it." His eye faded back to their understated green.

"I'm sorry, love." I laid a hand on his chest, telling him it was okay. I turned to face Shane.

"Why are you doing this? You know you need this alliance just as badly as we do. Why are you being such a prick?" Shane's face softened a bit.

"Why are you with _him_ Sophi? You know that you belong to me." He reached out and before I could stop him, he yanked me against his body and kissed me. I didn't kiss him back. I shoved at him trying to push him back. I saw Jeff's hands come over my shoulders and shove him away from me. Shane stumbled back a step or two. "Sophi…" He reached for me again. I pulled back and slapped him as hard as I could. His head jerked to the side with the force of it. I dropped my hand down to my side. My hand stung from where it made contact with Shane's cheek. He slowly raised a hand to rub the spot that I hit. He turned back to face me. "Now I remember why I started fuckin' Megan." I sucked in my breath sharply. That was a heinous low blow and he knew it. I felt that tear start to slowly cascade down my cheeks. After all these years, he could still hurt me.

Suddenly, Shane's head snapped back and he tumbled back into the couch. His hand was clamped over his eye. Jeff stepped up in front of me. His shoulders were heaving as his anger made him breathe raggedly. He walked up to loom over Shane. His hand was still balled into a fist at his side. Jeff had hit him.

"If you ever lay a hand on her without her permission again, I'm going to kill you." He told him through clenched teeth. "If you ever say anything like that to her again, you're a fuckin' dead man. You come anywhere near her…" He shook his head. "Carry your pathetic ass back to our house, get your shit and get the fuck out. If an alliance with you means that my Sophi has to be anywhere near you then I don't fuckin' want it. I could give a shit if you come to the meeting tomorrow or not. Just stay the fuck away from her." Shane just stared at him. I laid my hand on Jeff's back. He spun back around to face me. His shoulders were still heaving. I could believe what Jeff just did. He ended the alliance with Shane because of me. He held out his hand to me. He intertwined our fingers and led us out of the office.

Jeff lead me back out into the noise filled, pulsing beat of the club. We made our way through the sea of bodies towards the front door. With my new found sense, I could smell the sweat and lust that floated heavily through the dance floor. I clung to Jeff's arm. He was still holding my hand tightly. We stood outside waiting for the valet to bring our car around. Jeff decided he should drive for a change. That and so people could see us leave the club together. I laid my cheek against his upper arm and looked up at his profile. He was still angry. His eyes were still dark. He must have sensed me looking at him cause he turned his head and looked at me. I smiled softly at him. Jeff raised his free hand and brushed his fingers across my cheek. He leaned in and kissed my forehead as the valet pulled up in our car. Jeff made sure I was tucked safely into the car before he walked around the hood and climbed behind the wheel. We sped away from the curb in silence. I wanted to speak up when we made a left and the stoplight instead of the right that would have taken us home. Jeff must have had a reason for not going home. I jumped when I felt Jeff's warm hand close over mine. He intertwined our fingers like they were earlier.

"I just want to drive around for a little while. Okay, love?" He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it. I nodded. "Okay." We drove around for a good half an hour before we pulled in to park on a small hill over looking a lake. Jeff lifted my hand again, kissing it and then laid it back in my lap. He opened the door and climbed out. He shut the door behind himself.

I wanted to follow him, but I could tell that he just needed to cool off for a minute or two. I watched him pace back and forth in front of the car. His body, illuminated by the headlights every time he passed in front of them. I watched him make these passes for about 15 minutes.

With no warning, he stopped right in the glow of the headlights to look at me. He closed his eyes , took a deep breath and turned around. He slowly sat himself down on the ground in front of the car. I couldn't take it any longer. I got out and walked to the front of the car. Jeff was sitting there with his back against the grill, with his legs out in front of him, staring straight ahead at the lake.

"Jeff?" He looked up at me. I sat down on my knees beside him. "Baby, are you okay now?" I pushed some of his hair back off his face. He nodded and captured my hand. He used it to gently pull me towards him. He lifted me up and sat me in his lap. He kissed my temple and pressed me in to lay against his shoulder.

"I'm fine, love. I'm fine." He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly against his chest. I placed my hand on the back of his neck, under his hair and softly stroked it, knowing that it relaxed him when I did it. We sat there for a while before Jeff spoke again. "I'm sorry, love." I lifted my head.

"Sorry for what? You didn't do anything." He closed his eyes when I rubbed his cheek. For a guy, Jeff had the softest skin. Except for his hands. His hands weren't rough, but they had calluses in all the right places. Honestly, my favorite part of Jeff, his lips. Jeff loved to watch my hips when I walked and I loved to watch Jeff's lips form words. Strange, I know, but they are just so beautiful to me.

"I'm sorry about Shane. I'm sorry about what he said to you, what he did…" I put my hand over those beautiful lips.

"Stop. Stop apologizing for him. Did you do or say any of those things to me?" He shook his head 'no'. I moved my hand back to his cheek. Then I don't want to hear you say you're sorry. Do you know what I _do_ want?"

"What, love?"

"I want you to take me home."

"What if Shane's still there?"

"Are you going with me?" He nodded. "Then I don't care who else is there. Jeff," I kissed him, "take me home."

The next night, the meeting went off without a hitch. Jeff and I were both surprised when Shane walked through the door, sporting a nasty black eye. He avoided me the whole night. Not that it really bothered me. It wasn't like I expected an apology from him. I knew in my heart that he meant every horrible word that he said. The Kings went home that night with a solid alliance and a plan that if anyone was under attack, they would send out a call and the bordering Kings would send in help. They were thinking of having another meeting in a few months to come up with a 'Kill Taker' plan.

The next couple of weeks went by very quickly. Jeff had finally let me go back into work. I had pretty much perfected hiding my fangs when I talked to people, so he thought it was safe. That and he knew John and Matt would be there with me the whole time too. Jeff was extremely busy with his work too. With Jeff having to make sure the new club was running smoothly, acquaint Phil with how we ran things and trying to find someone to replace Bob at the hotel, plus me working on numerous articles at one time, Jeff and I never got to spend anytime together. Either, Jeff was getting calls and he'd have to leave or I was so tired from my day, I'd be asleep when he came home. Thank God for phone calls during the day otherwise we'd never get to talk to each other.

Friday afternoon, I was sitting at my desk, putting the finishing touches on my 'Insider's Look At Hardy Enterprises' article. It was a 10-part series. This was the 10th installment and I was done. I was sitting there staring at the screen, trying to come up with the last few lines to tie the whole series together ad bring it to an end, when my desk phone rang. I smiled when I recognized the number. Jeff's cell phone.

"Hi Baby." I said quietly into the receiver. I didn't need nosey people listening in on my personal conversations.

"Love." I smiled picturing his lips form that word. Then him pressing his lips to mine, then slowly making his way down my neck. "Love? Sophi? Are you still there?" Oh hell! Jeff had been talking to me the whole time I had been fantasizing about him. Damn, we've been spending too much time apart. I would have to find some time for us to be together. At least a quickie or something.

"I'm sorry, Jeff. I'm here. What were you saying?"

"I asked what time you were getting off tonight, love."

"Umm…I'm not sure. I have to finish this and then I might be able to slip off. Why?"

"I have plans for us. I want you to come home as soon as you can, okay?"

"Okay." Jeff was always good for inspiration. I got the last couple of lines written, sent it to Matt. I started to shut down my computer. "So, are you going to tell me what your plans are?" I asked him.

"Nope. You'll just have to come home." I packed up my bag.

"I'm on my way, baby." I headed down to the parking garage and hoped into my car. No, not my crappy Caviler. It was one of Jeff's cars that he insisted that drive everyday. God, I hoped this surprise had some alone time for us.

20 minutes later, I was pulling into the driveway. I grabbed my purse and bag and closed the car door. I headed up the steps to the front door just as it opened, revealing Jeff. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him. He took a couple steps backwards, pulling me into the house and shutting the door. He vanished us upstairs to our bedroom. Oh, thank God! I had missed him so much. I dropped my bags as Jeff pulled back. I shrugged off my jacket getting ready for whatever he had in mind.

"Love, I want us to go away for the weekend." What? That's what he wanted? Oh, wait. If we were alone and no one was bothering us…okay, I'm totally down with this idea. I looked over his shoulder and noticed that he had already packed a bag for us. "What do you think?" He kissed me.

"Of course! That sounds like a wonderful idea." I slipped my arms around his neck. "Just you and me…" He kissed me

"No interruptions…" He said against my lips.

"That sounds like heaven. Where are we going?"

"Not far. I reserved us a suite at the hotel. For the whole weekend." I picked up my jacket off the floor and laid it on the bed near the bag.

"Is this just your bag?" I asked, laying my hand on top of it. He smiled at me.

"Nope, it's for us. We won't need much."

"Really?" I played with one of the buttons on my shirt. I watched his eyes drift down to my hand. I knew I had turned his thoughts in the direction I wanted them when his eyes turned my favorite shade of Emerald.

"You know your eyes give your thoughts away, love."

"What do you mean?" I asked. He took a few steps forward. He laid a hand on my cheek.

"When you look at me that way, your eyes turn the most beautiful shade of blue." I laid my hands on his chest.

"And what way do I look at you, baby?" He smiled at me again. No one's smiled ever in my life has affected me the way Jeff's did. He leaned in to kiss my ear.

"You look at me like you want me to take you right now, love." He whispered in my ear. I closed my eyes. Oh, God. I shivered in anticipation. I felt Jeff smile against my cheek. Damn him, but he knew me so well. I did want him, badly. It had been too long. "Am I right love?"

"Yes. Right now, Jeff." He leaned back to look at my face.

"Good, but not yet." He took my hand. "Let's go, love. I have something to show you." He grabbed the bag and vanished us to his office at the hotel. We walked out of the back and over to the bank of elevators. Jeff pulled me close to his body as we stepped into the elevator with two other older couples. I snuggled into Jeff's chest. I leaned up and pressed a few kisses against the side of Jeff's neck. He slowly rubbed a hand up and down my back. Suddenly, he stopped, making me look up and remember that we weren't alone in the elevator. I glanced at the other couples who were watching us.

"Sorry," Jeff chuckled, "newlyweds." He told them. They was an amused chorus of 'Ohs'. The elevator slowly came to a stop and dinged, signaling we were at their floor. As they started to leave the elevator, one of the ladies touched my arm, getting my attention.

"Don't worry sweetheart. I couldn't keep my hands off of mine when he was new either. She smiled at me and stepped off the elevator. "Young love." I heard her sigh as the doors shut.

"Well, that was embarrassing." I said, leaning back into Jeff. He just laughed. A few seconds later, the elevator dinged again. We walked out into the top floor. The floor was separated out into three large suites. Jeff led me to our door at the far end of the hall. He pulled out the keycard but didn't put it in the door. I looked at him wondering what was going on.

"Love, I want to give you something before we go in." I nodded.

"Okay." He took a deep breath and reached in his pocket. He pulled out a gorgeous ring. It was a beautiful dark stone set in a large ornate silver scrolled setting. He took my right hand and slipped it on to my middle finger. "Jeff this is so beautiful, but you…" He started to talk over me.

"This is the Black Diamond of the Queen. It is passed down from Queen to Queen. My mother wore this ring until her death. Now," he lifted my hand and kissed the knuckle right above the ring, "it's your turn to wear it."

"But I'm not Queen, Jeff." He kissed my hand again.

"Tonight, love." He turned and opened the door.

"Tonight? What do you…" I gasped as I followed Jeff into the room. There were thousands of red and black candles lit all over the suite. The only light was the soft flickering glow of candlelight.

"Love, let's become trued tonight. I've waited as long as I can." He pulled me against his body. "I need you in every single way. I can't wait another night." He kissed me. "I love you." I smiled.

"Yes, let's get trued right now, baby." I said.

"Yeah?" I smiled again and nodded.

"Yeah." Jeff took my hand and led me into the bedroom where even more candles were lit. I noticed that there was a long gauzy white gown laying on the bed, along with a matching pair of pants.

"What are those?" I touched the end of the gown. It felt like the world's finest silk.

"Those are the traditional dress for truing. The white represents going into this with an open, pure heart." He turned and pointed to the candles. "The blood red represents our love, the energy of us together and the passion we share. The black represents our past, whether it be bad or good and the power we will have together as King and Queen." He turned me to face him. His hands hovered over the buttons on my shirt. "We are supposed to undress each other completely and then dress each other in the traditional cloth."

"Are you sure that's wise?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No, but that's what we have to do." He started undoing the small buttons on my shirt. Jeff not touching me was almost hotter than his hands all over me. He pushed my shirt off my shoulders. I could feel the heat from his hands as they traveled down my arms pulling the shirt with them. I had to fold my arms around myself when he hooked his arms around me to unzip my skirt. His breath teased the top of my shoulder. I shivered as the goose bumps skated down my arms. I felt the zipper slip down my back. Jeff lightly yanked on the open sides and let it go. My skirt slid down my legs and pooled around my feet. Jeff knelt down in front of me. I lifted one foot then the other and Jeff tossed the skirt to the side. He laid a hand on the back of each of my calves and removed my shoes. He stood back up to face me. His eyes were twin Emerald fires as we locked eyes.

"Almost done, love." He said kissing my cheek. He lingered there, like he didn't want to stop.

"Please hurry, Jeff." I whispered back. He nodded, once again wrapping his arms around me. My breasts tightened even more as they came in contact with his chest. I moaned softly at the touch. I unconsciously rubbed myself against him.

"Love, please…I'm barely holding on to my self control. We can't wait this long anymore."

"No, never again." He kissed the top of my shoulder.

"I'll be quick." I nodded. He quickly removed my bra and panties. Finally, I stood there completely naked in front of him. "You take my breath away, love." I wanted to feel embarrassed but I couldn't. Jeff made me feel like I was the most beautiful person in the entire world. "My Sophibella." He kissed me softly and slipped the white silk dress over my head. He let it fall down my hips. The dress stopped at my ankles. There was nothing fancy about the simple sheath, just a plan everyday dress. Now it was my turn to undress Jeff.

I grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. I barely fought the urge to run my hands down his naked chest. I undid his belt and pants. I walked around to Jeff's back, to stand between him and the bed. I knew Jeff was _raring_ to go and I didn't know if I could take it. _My_ self-control was about to snap. I watched Jeff's hands clinch into fists at his side as I slipped my hands between his hips and his boxers. He groaned when I pushed them down. I pulled them away from Jeff's feet. Which, thank God, were already bare from where he had kicked off his shoes when we came inside. I stood back up and grabbed the pants off the bed. I laid a hand against Jeff's back and softly kissed in between his shoulder blades.

"Almost done, baby." I kissed his back again.

"Sophi…" Jeff whispered. I took a deep breath and walked around to face him. I tried not to focus on how hard and ready Jeff's body was as I slid the pants up over his hips. It was all I could do not to shove him down on the floor and have my way with him.

"Now?" I questioned. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

"Now, I will give my vow to you and take your blood as a sign that you are mine and then you will do the same."

"Then can we…" He smiled.

"Yes, love. That is what truly seals the bond." He climbed up on the bed and offered me a hand to help me up. I sat in front of him. He smiled and took my right wrist. "One pull, okay? Then seal it." I nodded. He rubbed the inside of my wrist with his thumb and gave me his vow. "_Sophibella, tu esti a mea, eternal. Ca eu sunt al tau, vesnica. Impreuna vom fi. Pana nu sunt separate prin deces. I nima mea, atunci oferta de mine in curand sa urmeza. Trebuie, pentru totdeauna si mereu dragostes mea._" He lifted my wrist, kissed the skin there and bit me. I let my head fall back at the amazing feel of him pulling deeply on my vein. I looked back at him when I felt his tongue slid across the fresh wounds already closing up. He smiled softly at me and offered his right wrist to me. I held his wrist in both of mine. Strangely, even though I don't speak Romanian, I mean I do know a little, but I did know exactly what I was supposed to say to him. I repeated it back to him word for word. In Romanian.

"_Jeffrey, you are mine, eternal. As am I yours, eternal. Together shall we be. Till we are parted by death. My heart then will bid me soon to follow. You have, forever and always, my love." _I followed his lead by kissing his wrist and then biting him. I heard him groan as I took a long glorious pull on his blood. At the taste of his blood, all I wanted was him deep inside of me. I looked up at him through my lashes as I slowly drug my tongue across the twin wounds. The second I closed the wounds, Jeff wrapped his hands around my upper arms and pulled me against his body. An instant later, I was underneath him. His lips were like flames against mine. I moaned against Jeff's lips when I felt him working the skirt of the dress up above my hips. Jeff lifted his hips away from me to free himself from his pants.

"Give me your left hand, love." I lifted my hand to meet his. He intertwined our fingers and pressed our connected hands on the pillow above my head as he plunged himself deep inside my body. We both moaned at the joined sensation. Jeff didn't move beyond kissing the side of my neck. I started to get alarmed when I felt a stinging, burning pain in the palm of my left hand.

"Jeff?" He lifted his head and kissed me.

"I feel it too, love. It's the truing mark. It shows that we're bound together forever." Just as suddenly as it started the pain in my palm went away. Jeff pulled our joined hand down to our eye level. We separated our palms to find an intricate design that reminded me of the symbol for infinity but not quite. There were more scrolls and swirls in our design. Jeff's design was the mirror image of mine. It was a pale pink color that blended in with the color of our palms. If you weren't looking for it you would totally miss it.

"Does this mean that you're stuck with me forever?" I asked. Jeff smiled and kissed me. He started moving in that familiar rhythm that I knew and loved so well. He kissed the base of my throat when my head fell back against the pillow. He smiled at me when he lifted his head.

"Only if you'll have me forever?" Jeff panted as he increased his rhythm.

"Yes, Jeff. Forever."

**I feel so bad about making Shane the asshole. I needed someone that I liked enough to make me feel crapy if he was really this way. I promise, I really do love Shane! I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=**


	11. Chapter 11

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to Ms. Chandy, Queen of Extreme Kate, RoseannaMay, extremechaingangenigma, xAngelofHardyx and Arquero333. You guys rock!!! \m/ (.) \m/ Enjoy! **

I slowly opened my eyes and took in my unfamiliar surroundings. I had to think for a second. Where the hell was I? The bed shifted slightly behind me. I felt Jeff's arm, that was drapped over my waist, tuck me closer to his body. I sighed contently as the memory of last night came flooding back. Jeff and I had become trued. I looked at the palm of my left hand. The design started at the base of my thumb, traveling diagonally ended at the base of my pinky. It covered almost my entire palm.

I lifted Jeff's left hand. I smiled and softly traced the design. I let out a small yelp when Jeff's hand closed over my finger. I heard Jeff laugh quietly behind me. He kissed the back of my shoulder.

"That tickles." He said, letting my finger go. "What are you doing up this early anyway, love?" I rolled over to face Jeff. I glanced over his shoulder to see the early morning light trying to find it's way through the thick dark curtains. Sometime during the night, Jeff had closed them. I still have the sun sensitivity. I wrapped my arm over his waist and slowly, softly stroked his lower back.

"I don't know. Wait…" I leaned in and kissed his chin, smiling, "are you questioning something your Queen is doing?" He smiled back.

"No, why would I do that?" I started to kiss his upper chest.

"You know, I was thinking that I need to establish some guidelines for punishment." I slipped my leg over Jeff's hip.

"Punishment for what?" He slid his hand up my leg to my hip. I kissed his neck.

"Questioning the Queen, of course." He slipped his hand to my lower back, rolled me and followed me over.

"Is there any way I can beg for mercy from my Queen." Jeff started to kiss my shoulder. I ran my hands up and down his back.

"I may be able to think of something."

I was startled awake by the ringing by my head. I heard Jeff's voice rumble in his chest where my head was laying as he complained about the noise. I felt Jeff's hand gently caresses my back as he reached for his still ringing phone on the nightstand.

"Hardy." He answered with a voice laden thick with sleep. "It's okay." I rubbed small circles on Jeff's chest while he listened to the person on the other end. His hand suddenly became still on my back. "Are you two okay?" He listened again. "Was this today?" I lifted my head to look at Jeff.

"What's going on?" I whispered to him. 'Hold on.' He mouthed back.

"You two come here to the hotel and bring Matt and John with you." Pause. "Yeah, 10 minutes." Jeff hung up the phone. I sat up and tucked the sheet around me as he climbed out of bed.

"Jeff, what's going on?" I asked again. Jeff pulled his pants up and over his hips and turned back to face me.

"Everything's okay, love. Randy and Maggie were followed today by Miz and Adam."

"Oh, is Maggie okay, Jeff?" I climbed out of the bed with the sheet still tucked around me. I followed him to the door.

"Yes, love. She's okay. They didn't touch her." He kissed me lightly. "Everyone's okay." I sighed.

"Okay, okay."

10 minutes later, I was sitting curled up on the couch in the living room of the suite, in my robe, beside Jeff as we watched Randy pace angrily back and forth in front of us. Jeff rubbed my bare knee where it poked out of the open bottom of my robe, while we listened to Randy tell us how everywhere they went in Rome (they hand decided to take the day off and spend it together, alone), Miz and Adam appeared. At lunch, while shopping, sight seeing, at dinner, they were there. Adam even scared Maggie through the 10th story bathroom window. That was the last straw. That was when they came home and called Jeff.

"I'm sorry that we interrupted you, Jeff, but…" Jeff held up his hand, stopping Randy.

"It's fine. This was an emergency. Definitely something I needed to know. Matt, have you or John seen any of Taker's men here in the city?"

"No, I haven't heard or seen anything." Matt said.

"Me either." John told us. Jeff squeezed my knee lightly and stood up. Randy sat down beside Maggie in the love seat and put his arm around her, pulling her close. Jeff took up his pacing. My eyes followed his every bare-chested step. He was trying to figure out what to do.

"Okay," he stopped pacing and turned to face us, "Matt, I need you to put the word out to the _strigoi_ to be extra cautious. Don't alarm them. Just ask them to be aware of their surroundings and report anything suspicious. We want everyone to go on with their daily lives. I don't want Taker thinking we are afraid of him." Matt nodded.

"Okay. Can do."

"Like I said, don't scare them. I just want them to pay attention to what's going on around them." Matt nodded. "Also, I want the six of us to set a good example. We know the community looks to us. I want to show them that we aren't scared so they have no reason to be either. We are gonna go on with our daily lives, just like normal." We nodded. He walked back over to stand beside me. I took his hand in mine. He wrapped his free hand around it and held it tightly. I looked up at his face. He still had something weighing on his mind. I squeezed his hand lightly.

"Jeff, baby?" He looked down at me. "What is it?" He took a deep breath.

"I just…I don't know. I just feel like something bad is right around the corner. I wish I knew what it was so I could stop it from happening." He sat down on the couch beside me. I leaned in and kissed him.

"It'll all be okay, baby. You'll see." I whispered to him. He kissed me back.

"I hope so, love. I hope so." I scooted over enough so that I could lay my head in his lap. He tucked some hair behind my ear and gently stroked my hair while we waited for Matt and John to write up what Jeff needed to get across to the city. I had almost fallen asleep from the soft gentle strokes of Jeff's fingers in my hair, when Matt announced to Jeff that he had finished. He read it to Jeff, who told him it was perfect and to send it out ASAP. With that he dismissed everyone with a 'Have a better night.' I sat up and looked at Jeff.

"Baby, I understand that you need to get back home. We can finish our weekend some other time. This is too important." Jeff smiled at me. He laid his palm against my cheek.

"And you were worried that you would be a crappy Queen." He kissed my nose. "God, I love you. And no, we are not going back home yet. I meant what I said and that goes for us too. We can't let him interrupt our lives. He stood up and took my hand. "Come on. Let's go order dinner and eat it in bed."

When Jeff and I came back to the 'real world' on Monday morning, he called Matt and asked him to leak the news that he and I had snuck off and gotten married over the weekend. The vampires would know what it really meant and the humans (it was so weird to say that) would understand why some random people called me 'Mrs. Hardy'. The next morning paper had a small 'Editor's Word' at the bottom of the front page.

_I have it on good authority that my brother, Jeffrey Hardy and his beautiful fiancée, Sophibella Laurell__ ran off this past weekend and got married. Neither bothered to tell any of their friends or family (namely me) where they were going or what they were up to. You both should be ashamed of yourselves. But beyond that, I wanted to send my love out to the new Mr. and Mrs. Hardy. Congratulations you two._

_- Matthew Hardy, Editor and Chief _

I cut the small article out and stuck it in the mirror of our dresser. That way I could see it everyday.

The next few weeks went by without any incidents. Jeff got a few calls about spotting but other than that, nothing. Jeff still couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

I ended up putting in my two weeks at the paper. I knew if I stayed, I would get treated differently then others and I didn't want that. Even though I was Queen, at heart I was still a hide in the background kinda girl. Matt made me promise that I would occasionally write an article for him. Of course, I agreed. Jeff decided, since I was no longer working at the paper, he would teach me about his job and the company. Since I was now sorta part owner in 'Hardy Enterprise', I should know what went on at the company. Do you think I said no? No way! I got to spend all of my time with Jeff and, added bonus, we got to 'christen' the desk at all of his offices. My favorite, his big mahogany desk at his main office down town. So much room.

Jeff informed me, one afternoon, that he had a meeting with Dean from Accounting. It was about the budget for the next quarter. Nothing bores me more than going over 'the numbers'. I decided to opt out of this meeting. I called Maggie, who was working the lunch shift at Starlight. I asked her if Randy was there. (Stupid question. He's with her pretty much all the time.) I told her I was coming down for lunch. Jeff walked me down to the garage (Mr. Paranoid) and kissed me goodbye. He stood there watching me until I was out of sight.

Randy was sitting at the counter when I walked in to Starlight. I hoped up the stool beside him. I leaned into his shoulder as I ordered my lunch. They were surprisingly slow for a Thursday, so Maggie stood there at the counter talking to me and Randy while we ate. I looked down at Randy's cell as it vibrated across the counter.

"Hey, I gotta take this. I'm gonna be right in the back." He stood up, kissed Maggie and headed to the swinging door. The door jingled, let us know that someone walked in.

"Sit anywhere you want." Maggie told them. "I'll be back in an minute, okay?" She said to me. I waved her on as I took a sip of my drink. From my seat I could see Pop in the kitchen cooking. When he turned around I smiled at him. He bowed his head to me and went on with what he was doing. I had found out, that was a show of respect. I was quickly finding out who the hidden vampires in the city were. I was almost getting used to random people on the street bowing their heads to me.

I was picking at the remains of my sandwich and daydreaming when I heard the door jingle again. I'm glad I came in when I did. They were starting to pick up. I noticed that all of the talking in the diner stopped. I looked over at Maggie. She was staring, open mouthed, at something behind me. What the hell was she looking so scared for? I felt someone sit down at the counter beside me. I hated when people do that when the counter, but you, is entirely empty. I turned to ask him/her, politely, to move down a seat. I lost the ability to form coherent words when I found the nearly 7ft man sitting next to me. Kane never said a word. He just looked down at me and reached inside of his jacket. Oh God. So this was how I was going to die.

"Please, you don't have to do this in front of everyone." I whispered. "Take me out of here first." There was no reason for Maggie to have to see me die in front of her. Jeff had told me he had heard that Kane was a cold-blooded killer. I closed my eyes, waiting. Either he was going to jerk me up and take me to the alley or he was going to ignore my plea and kill me right here. I tried to focus my mind on the people I cared about the most as I awaited my fate. I snapped my eyes open when I heard him slap something down on the counter. It was a plain white envelope with my name, _Sophibella Hardy_, written on the front in a beautiful script.

"I looked at the envelope and then back at Kane. He was just watching me. Behind me, I heard the swinging doors open.

"Hey!" I heard Randy yell. "Back the fuck away from her!" Randy suddenly appeared beside me, aiming a gun (that I never knew he carried) at Kane's head. Kane didn't even flinch or look his way. He tapped the envelope and pushed it towards me. "I said move, asshole!" Randy told Kane again. Kane just looked at me. He bowed his head and vanished. "Son of a bitch!" Randy un-cocked the gun, flipped on the safety and tucked it back into the holster hidden at the small of his back. "Sophi, are you okay? Did he touch you? Are you hurt?" Randy questioned me as I saw Maggie rush over. I shook my head 'no', still in shock of what had just happened. I looked around at the few people in the diner. I noticed a couple of the males were standing close to us. They had gotten up to defend me if need be.

"I'm okay." I cleared my throat and said it louder. "I'm okay. He didn't touch me. I'm fine." I looked at the two males standing behind Randy. I bowed my head to them. "Thank you." They both bowed their heads and went back to their seats.

"Holy shit, Sophi! Are you okay?" Maggie said, hugging me to her tightly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. A little shocked, but okay." Randy tapped the envelope, much like Kane had.

"What's this?" I shrugged.

"I don't know. He just took it out of his pocket and laid it on the counter." I picked it up and went to open it. Randy put his hand over mine.

"Let's call Jeff before you open that. He's gonna want to see it too." I nodded and pulled out my cell phone. I dialed his office. Jeff picked up on the second ring.

"_Hardy."_ He must not have looked at the phone.

"Jeff…"

"_Love? What's wrong?"_

"Are you done with your meeting?"

"_Yeah, we just finished. What's going on, Sophi?"_

"I'm okay, baby. Can I bring Randy and Maggie back with me?"

"_Of course, love. Are you coming back now?"_

"Yes, right now. We'll be there in a second."

"_Okay." _We hung up. I grabbed the letter back off the counter and we walked to the back. Randy vanished Maggie and I to Jeff's office. Jeff was standing there in front of his desk, waiting on us.

"Sophi? What's going on?" He walked over to me and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Jeff, I need to tell you what happened at the diner, but I want you to sit down first okay?" Jeff raised an eyebrow at me. He sat down in the chair closest to him. He looked up at me expectantly. "So, I was eating my lunch at the counter," I started to play with my rings and not looking at him. My nervous gesture. I so knew he was going to yell at me or Randy. "And…well…I got a visitor."

"A visitor?" Jeff asked. "Who?"

"Umm…Kane." I said quietly.

"I'm sorry, did you say Kane? As in Taker's Kane?" I nodded.

"But he didn't touch me. Or do anything for that matter. He just gave me this." I handed Jeff the letter.

"What the hell is this? Where were you, Randy?" Jeff asked, starting to get angry.

"I was…" I held up a hand to stop Randy.

"Jeff, that's not important right now." He started to say something. I put my hand over his mouth. "Look, I'm not hurt. Nothing happened." I moved my hand from his mouth to his cheek. "Baby, I'm okay. He just gave me the letter." Jeff closed his eyes and sighed. "Can we just open the letter now?" He nodded. He opened the envelope and took out the neatly folded paper. He unfolded it and handed it back to me.

"Love, it's made out to you. You read it."

"Umm…okay." I looked at the beautiful, eloquent script writing. It reminded me of the way that people wrote way back when. Which begged the question, how old was Kane? I started to read.

_ My dearest Sophibella,_

_I know that you have heard many things about the horrible stuff that I have done in my long life. Not all of it is true. I will admit, I have done many bad things but most of those stories are just rumors to make people more afraid of me and from what I can tell it worked. But I fear it has worked on the one person I never wanted it to work on, you._

_I have spent the last couple of decades watching you and protecting you. I do have a confession to make to you. When your older cousin, Jason, was kidnapped, you and Margerette were supposed to be taken too. Taker never told Robert and I why we were supposed to take the three of you. I still remember the day like it was yesterday. I broke into your house, where you and Margerette were sleeping. I went to get you first but when you opened your beautiful blue eyes and smiled at me, I couldn't do it. Robert tried to come back to get you, but I killed him to keep him from going back. When Taker found out that he didn't have you and Margerette, he went off. He beat me within an inch of my life but I refused to tell him where you were or go back and get you._

_He will never understand the feelings I have towards you. Don't worry. I do not feel like you are my kept or anything of that nature, I just feel this overwhelming need to protect you. I know in my heart that you need to be safe for the good of our people. I have tried my best to kept Taker and his men away from you. I don't know that I am being effective anymore._

_The attack on you by Miz and Adam was completely unsanctioned and would have gotten them kill but Taker still got part of what he wanted. They were supposed to take you back to Taker, who was going to turn you himself. He was then going to brainwash you to kill the King yourself._

_I have heard rumblings that Taker is going to come for you and Margerette again. I don't know when and I don't know where, but I know he's coming. He hasn't fully trusted me since I failed him with you all those years ago. I have informed the King's source and he knows everything I know as well. He should be in contact with him soon._

_I will understand if the King needs to kill me for the things I've done in the past and the way I approached you in giving you this letter. I know I deserve to die and I am willing to expect my fate. I would like to ask for forgiveness. I'm not asking for it from the King or Taker or even our people, but from you. I only ask that you forgive me for not protecting you more. I'm truly sorry. But know that I will meet my end fighting to protect you._

_ Forever your servant,_

_ -Kane_

I finished reading the letter out loud. I looked at Maggie. She had a shocked look on her face. With the way that Randy was holding her and rubbing her shoulder he knew all about Jason. Jason, Maggie's older brother had been taken from his bed in the middle of the night. My parents had been keeping Maggie for the night which was way she was with me and not at home. Three weeks later, they found a body of a young boy two miles away from our houses. The police had proved it to be Jason's body. I was two at the time and Maggie was four. I don't remember anything about him but what our Grandmother told us. I was too young, but Maggie did have some of her own vague memories.

I felt Jeff take the letter out of my hand. I looked at him as he gently pull me down into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me. I was in shock. Kane was protecting me? I shuddered to think about what Taker had wanted to do to me and have me to do.

"Does that mean that Taker killed Jason?" Maggie asked quietly. I nodded. Jeff had told me all these stories about how horrible Kane was but it turned out that he actually had a heart. At least he did where it came to me. Jeff spoke up, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Okay, you two need to stay away from the city for awhile. At least until I can get word on what Taker is planning." I opened my mouth to protest. Jeff talked right over me. "Maggie, Randy, I want you two to come stay with Sophi and I for a little while. That way Sophi won't be tempted to leave the house to find you." I shot him a look. I went to get off his lap but he just held me tighter. "Love, please. Please do this for me. I need to know that you're safe." He leaned in and pressed his cheek against mine. "Please don't deny a love crazed vampire this. I would die if I lost you, love." He whispered in my ear. I laid my hand on the back of his neck, softly rubbing it. I nodded.

"Okay, baby. I'll do it." Jeff lifted his head to look at me. "For you."

Later that evening, Jeff called John and Matt to the house. We all had dinner together, which put Bessy in seventh heaven. She loved having people to take care of. Jeff insisted that John and Matt stay the night. They had some work to do and they may just work through the night. They were gonna put calls out to all their sources to see what they could find out.

I woke up around dawn when I felt Jeff crawl into the bed behind me. I rolled over to face him.

"Are you just now coming to bed, baby?" He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close.

"Yeah, sorry. Did I wake you?" He kissed me.

"Not really. I was half sleeping anyway." I tucked my head up under his chin and laid my cheek on his chest. "I'm kinda worried."

"Worried? Love, I'll do everything…" I lifted my head.

"I'm worried about you, baby." I brushed some stray strand of hair off of his forehead.

"Love…" I put a finger over his lips, quieting him.

"Jeff, baby, you are working too hard on this. You are trying to control something that you have no control over."

"Sophi, I need to keep you safe." I kissed him.

"I know but you need to take care of yourself too." I kissed him again. "You need to get some sleep. God Jeff you didn't eat but a bite or two at dinner." I smiled at him and softly stroked his cheek. "How are you going to make love to me if you are weak with hunger?" He smiled.

"You're right, love. I do feel this hunger." He kissed me and rolled us over so that I was under him. "I don't think it has anything to do with food, love." He kissed down my throat. I ran my hand up and down his naked back.

"Is there anything I can do to make your hunger go away, baby?" He smiled at me with that sexy wicked grin.

"Love, you are the only one who can relieve it. But its never gonna go away."

Later that afternoon, I was lounging on the couch in Jeff's office. He was trying to get some work done and he was also waiting for a couple of other sources to call him back. I was bored out of my mind. I contemplated walking over to Jeff, shoving everything off of his desk, throwing myself on top of it and begging Jeff to have his way with me. One look at his face nixed that idea. He was very focused on what he was working on and I would feel bad for interrupting him.

I heard Maggie and Randy moving around in his make-shift office upstairs and got an idea of something to do.

"Jeff, I'm gonna grab Maggie and go hang outside for a little while." Jeff looked up.

"Why? What's outside, love?" I sat up and smiled at him.

"Trees, grass, sunshine, fresh air…" Jeff smiled and shook his head. He laughed quietly.

"Smart ass." I walked over to the desk. I leaned across it till over faces were mere inches apart.

"I thought you loved my ass, baby." He grinned. He tucked my hair behind my ear and brushed his marked palm against my cheek.

"I adore your ass, love." He brushed his lips against the corner of mine. "Promise me you'll be careful." He repeated the action on the opposite side of my lips.

"I will, baby. I will." I pressed a searing kiss to his 'oh so delicious' lips. The kiss held all the promises of a steamy night together, later. "I love you." I told him, standing up.

"I love you too, Sophi." I blew him a kiss as I closed the door.

I ran upstairs and liberated Maggie. She was suffering the same bought of boredom that I was. We settled ourselves on the back deck of the house. We sat there, staring out at the open green field between the house and the woods. Maggie had me laughing at a story about Dylan dancing with her in the diner the other day, when something near the woods caught my eye.

"Do you see that Mags?" I pointed out into the field.

"Yeah. It's a dog. It looks hurt, too." I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it does. Oh!" The dog collapsed onto its side. "We have to go check on it. See if its okay." I stood up and looked back at the house. I had this weird feeling. I kept thinking that I should go inside and get someone to come out with us. Naw. We'd be okay. What could happen in the yard?

"Where do you think it came from?" Maggie asked as we walked out into the bright afternoon sun. I squinted, trying to keep the sun from hurting my eyes too badly. I lifted my hand over my eyebrows to shield my still kinda light-sensitive eyes from the glare of the blazing sun.

"I have no clue. He probably came out of the woods." We were over halfway across the field. I glanced back at the house. I was feeling this overwhelming need to haul ass back to the house to the safe comfort of Jeff's arms. As soon as I checked out the poor sick dog, I was going to do just that. I stopped. We were in the approximant place we had seen the dog. We were just a few feet away from the edge of the woods. I looked around. There was no sign of the dog anywhere. "Where did he go?" I wondered out loud. "Let's head back to the house." I took a step backwards. For some reason I couldn't name, I was seriously fighting the urge to sprint for the house. The hair on the back of my neck did their stand up thing an instant before I backed into something. The overwhelming smell of wet dog fur invaded my senses as two large arms flew around my body, trapping my arms and clamping over my mouth.

"Miss me, pet?" Adam said into my ear. Maggie, who had been facing away from me, turned at the sound of his voice. I tried to scream at her to vanish as Miz and a group of vampires I had never seen before vanished right behind her. Miz's arms shot around her.

"Scream and the Queen is good as dead. Got me?" He said to her. Maggie nodded as the tears started to roll down her cheeks. I could see in her eyes, she was completely terrified. Adam chuckled. So not friendly what so ever.

"I told you she'd fall for the sick dog stunt." He said to the vamps standing around. Maggie and I were truly outnumbered. "Don't worry," Adam said to me, "Taker's gonna break you of that tender heart you have, real quick." At the mention of Taker's name, I started to try and fight back. Not that it did any good, Adam's grip was unbreakable.

"Hold up, man." One of the unknown vampires said to Adam. He stepped up to me. He grabbed both of my hands. I tried, with no luck, to yank my hands away from his. "Look at this." He held up my right hand. "Not only is she wearing the ring of the Queen," he flipped my left hand over, "they've been trued." Adam laughed.

"Taker will be pleased. Now he doesn't have to fake his way through that." Adam started to move his hand off my mouth. "I'm gonna move my hand away from your pretty little mouth, but if you scream or fight me, we'll kill the blonde and march you to the house and kill everyone inside. We'll make you watch us slaughter everyone but Hardy. Then we'll make him watch as we all have our deserved turn with his beloved Queen. Then I'll kill you in front of him the same way I did his mother. And then maybe, if I'm feeling generous, I'll put him out of his misery too. Do you understand me pet?" Talking about killing everyone and raping me had excited Adam. He roughly pressed himself against me. "Do. You. Understand. Me?" I nodded slowly. One unknown vamp strolled up to me. He harshly grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. He studied my face for a second. He suddenly jerked my head to the side and leaned in to sniff my neck.

"Mmm…she smells divine." He lifted my right hand. I tried to jerk it back but my strength was nothing compared to his. He brought my hand up to his mouth and bit down on the tip of my forefinger. I made a small sound of pain as his razor sharp fang sliced into my skin. His tongue flicked out and licked the bead of crimson that appeared.

"Well?" Miz asked. He had an arm around Maggie's middle holding her to him, while he stroked her arm. It almost looked like they were a couple. Unknown smiled.

"Yes, Taker will be happy. She isn't breeding from the King's seed yet. Taker is free to do as he pleases."

"Mmm…" Adam purred behind me, "do you think he'll let us break her in first?" He rubbed himself against me again. I wanted to scream and run, but I knew I would never make it and they would kill Maggie. I couldn't let that happen.

"I'm sure he will let us have a little fun first." Unknown said.

"Please…" I said quietly.

"Please what?" Adam said from my neck where he was rubbing his face. Almost like he was trying to scent mark me.

"Please let Maggie go. Take me. I'm the one you need. She doesn't need to be involved. Please, just take me."

"No can do my pet." Adam laughed. "How else will we get you to cooperate? Do it." He nodded to Miz. He pulled a cloth out of his pocket and slapped it over Maggie's mouth. She struggled for a few moments, then her eyes slowly rolled back in her head and she became rag doll limp in Miz's arms.

"What did you do?" I tried to get free.

"Calm down my pet. A little chloroform never hurt anybody. Go ahead man." Unknown pulled a syringe full of a bright cloudy liquid. He uncapped it and grabbed my upper arm. I tried to struggle but to no avail.

"Don't worry. This will only hurt for a second." He jammed the needle into my skin and slammed down the plunger, shooting God knows what into my blood stream. He yanked it out and tossed it to the ground. It only took a few seconds before the heavy duty sedative started to kick in. My eyelids started to feel like they weighed a ton while I tried to fight off the effects. I was quickly being pulled under. Adam jerked around as the door to the back of the house opened. I saw Jeff step out onto the deck. He looked around for me somewhat franticly. My eyelids got too heavy for me to fight anymore and forced themselves closed. I was pulled completely under the wave of unconsciousness. The last thing I heard was Jeff yelling my name.

**I know you may not want to hear this but this story is quickly coming to an end. I, for one, will be sorry to see it go. I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=**


	12. Chapter 12

**I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to Ms. Chandy, Queen of Extreme Kate, RoseannaMay, extremechaingangenigma, xAngelofHardyx, Lady Sony, SwtPoison and Arquero333. You guys rock!!! \m/ (.) \m/ Enjoy! **

The hard, heavy hand coming in contact with my cheek brought me slowly out of my drugged stupor. The hand made contact again. I struggled to open my eyes.

"Wake up Queeny." Adam said in my ear. My eyes flew open. Adam's face hovered in my vision. He smiled. "She's awake!" He called over his shoulder. I found myself laying on the floor in an unfamiliar bedroom. I was laying beside the only bed in the room. I rolled my head to the side to find Maggie laying a few feet away from me, still out of it. I tried to make a move to go to her but my limbs wouldn't cooperate with my demands. They were still heavy from the sedative they had given me.

"Pick her up wolf." A deep sinister voice said from somewhere behind Adam. Adam stood up and jerked me up by my upper arms. He turned me so that I was leaned against his chest. My head flopped back on it's own accord. I was still too drugged to support my own weight. I was pretty much lifeless in Adam's grip. I let my gazed drift up as someone stepped up in front of me. My eyes widened at the sheer size of the man looming ominously over me. Taker. I had thought that Kane was big but Taker was a little bit bigger. The thing that scared me the most, his eyes. They were pitch black. Void of all color.

He grabbed my chin roughly. He twisted my head from one side to the other.

"You're rather pretty aren't you?" He said. I didn't answer. He felt down the sides of my throat feeling my veins. "Good veins." I saw standing off to the side, the merry band of vampires that kidnapped us plus a few more. Jay and Miz were there. And so was Kane.

I closed my eyes letting the tears slip down my cheeks as Taker essentially molested me in front of all of them. He felt my breasts and my hips, claiming that my body would work fine for him. I opened my eyes as he grabbed my left hand and flipped it over, looking at my palm.

"How long have you been trued Queen?" I paused, deciding on whether or not to answer him. It must have been too long for his liking. He backhanded me. I felt my lip split at the contact. I watched his dark eyes follow the trickle of blood run from my lip. "How long?" He growled.

"A little over a month," I said, barely above a whisper.

"Aaron?" The unknown vampire that had drugged me earlier, stepped up to Taker. "Are you sure she isn't breeding Hardy's young?" Aaron nodded. He must be their version of a doctor.

"Yes, sir. No young." Taker turned back to me. The smile he gave me made my blood run cold. Now, I was officially terrified.

"Good." He leaned in and licked the blood off my chin. "Good. Hardy will come after her. Then I can finally end him and that brother of his. Aaron, knock her out." Taker turned and walked out the door. Aaron pulled out another syringe. It only took a few seconds for that now familiar darkness to pull me under.

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Jeff's POV

I looked up for what had to be the hundredth time since Sophi left the office, over a half an hour ago. I couldn't concentrate for shit. All I could think about was her ass, thanks to the comments she made right before she left. That and I had this underlying feeling that I couldn't shake. You know that 'something bad is about to happen' feeling?

I tossed my pen down on my desk and stood up. I'll go find Sophi and see if she wants to spend some alone time with me. It's not like I was getting my work done anyway. I'll find Sophi, we'll kill a couple of hours and maybe, I'll find a way for her to help me with my work. Hopefully, that will help me focus a little better.

I smiled to myself thinking of how we were going to spend our alone time as I made my way to the back of the house. I nearly stumbled into the wall as this of fear rushed over me. Something was wrong. I vanished to the back door. I threw open the door, scouring the deck for signs of Maggie or Sophi. Nothing. Shit!

I jerked my head out to the field behind the house when I heard a noise. God, no! Adam and a large group of Taker's vampires were standing there. I know my eyes went black as I noticed Sophi, limp in Adam's grip.

"Sophi!" I yelled as loud as I could, praying that she would hear me and fight back. I vanished to them ready to take on every single vampire in the group to save her. When I appeared where they were standing, they were gone. I dropped to my knees in the last place I had seen her. I let out a gut-wrenching roar as every emotions rolled through my body. I was afraid for her life and the pain they were going to put her through. I was scared that I would never see her again. But more than anything, I was angry. How dare anyone lay their hands on Sophi. When I found her, whether alive or, God forbid, she was…I couldn't even bring myself to think it, anyone of those fuckin' vamps that touched her, I was personally going to kill.

"Jeff?" I heard Matt's voice as he, John and Randy vanished beside me. "Jeff, what's going on?" I dropped my head.

"Sophi. They took her. Taker has her. Fuck me, he has her." I saw Randy glance around suddenly.

"Where's Maggie?" I looked away from him. "Shit, Maggie was with her. Fuck!" He walked a few steps away with his back to us. His hands curled into fists at his side.

I felt Matt touch my shoulder. He and John each took one of my arms and lifted me up to a standing position. I shrugged them both off.

"We'll get her back, Jeff." Matt said. "We'll get them both back." He said sparing a glance at Randy.

"But in how many pieces? God damn it! She won't be able to withstand whatever they have planned for her."

"She's never gonna betray you, Jeff." John said, defensive of her.

"I could give a fuck about that. If it saves her one ounce of pain, she can give them everything. I just…" I turned to look at Matt. "You better get your shit together and be prepared to led cause if she…if my Sophi…dies, I'm going with her. I have nothing else to live for."

"Jeff, don't…" I waved Matt off and started to walk back to the house. My mind flashed to a picture of Sophi smiling at me when she walked out of the office earlier. My knees started to buckle as the pain from the thought that I might never see her again, shot through me. If Matt and John hadn't been walking beside me, I would have hit the ground. They grabbed my arms again and vanished me back to my office. Again, I jerked away from there grasp. I walked over to my desk and sat down behind it.

I had to find my Sophi, but I couldn't think right now. I was numb. Both my brain and my body wouldn't function. The only positive I could find was that I could feel that she was still alive. When we became trued, I started to be able to pick up some of her emotions. Right now, I couldn't feel anything from her. I didn't know if it was because she wasn't close to me or because she was unconscious. But I could still feel her heart beating.

I dejectedly ran my fingers through my hair. What was I gonna do without her? Die, that's what. Sophi was my heart, my soul. I was never gonna live without her. I looked up to see Matt, John and a devastated looking Randy, busy on their phones? No doubt doing what I supposed to be doing, my job as King. I needed to get up and help them but I just couldn't. I could hear them talking but my brain wouldn't process the words.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the framed picture on my desk. It was of me and her a couple of weeks ago. We were laying in bed and she had begged me to smile at the camera for her. I had laid my forehead against her temple, not looking at the camera, but still smiling. I grabbed the photo off my desk and laid it in my lap. I traced her outline with my fingertips, thinking about how beautiful she looked with her dark hair spread out on the bright white sheets of our bed. I don't know how long I sat there staring at the picture of us together, but the next time I looked up, the office was full of vampires. Some of them were from our city and some of them were from the cities we had alliances with.

I set our picture down on the desk, ran my hands into my hair and left them there, leaning down with my elbows on my knees. This was my own personal hell. Not knowing where Sophi was or if she was okay…it was official. This truly was hell.

"Where is Hardy?" I heard a voice ask. "How long has he been like this?" Damn it, what was he doing here? Someone must have pointed me out to him cause he walked over to me. "What the fuck did you do Hardy? You true your precious Queen and then you let Taker get her? I knew I should have taken Sophi back home with me. She would be safe in my bed, but now she's in Taker's. I'm sure he likes it rough." Shane said to me. I felt myself getting angry. Shane slammed his hand down on the desk, making me look up at him. He glared at me. I growled deep in my throat. "You must like the thought of Taker hurting her. He probably has her down right now and…" Before I knew what I was doing, I was out of my seat, grabbing Shane by his shirt and shoving him into the opposite wall. I got in his face.

"Don't you **EVER **say anything like that again. I'll kill you." Shane just looked at me.

"What about Taker?" I growled again.

"What about him? When I get my hands on him, I'm going to kill him too." I didn't even notice that the whole room had gone silent and everyone was staring at us.

"Good, then stop mopping like she's already dead. Let's find her, kill this fucker and bring our girl home." I was stunned into silence. Shane McMahon was actually thinking of someone other than himself for a change? "Are you back with us man?" Shane asked me. I nodded.

"Yeah," I let go of him and stepped back. He stepped away from the wall and straightened out his shirt. He started to walk away from me but I grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Umm, thanks." I mumbled quietly. Shane nodded and patted my shoulder.

"Your welcome, man. It's the least I can do." I let him go and turned back to face the room. I bowed my head to them, letting them know I was sorry. I looked back up

"Okay, let's get to work."

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"Sophi, Sophi?" I could hear Maggie's voice. I slowly opened my eyes, praying that what I remembered from earlier was all a dream. When I took in the still unfamiliar room, I groaned. This was horrible. We were still trapped in some unknown location, surrounded by Taker and his men. "Sophi? Are okay?" Maggie's face was a mask of concern.

"Umm…yeah." I pushed myself up. My body actually worked this time. I got to a sitting position and leaned back against the bed. My head was swimming. I was still dizzy from the sedative Aaron had given me, yet again.

"What's going on Sophi? Where the hell are we? I just woke up on the floor and you were laying there." I wanted to cry.

"Taker has us Mags. I don't know where we are. They took you to keep me in line and they took me so that Taker could lure Jeff here and then kill him. I think Taker wants to use me to have his children. I don't know what's going to happen to use Mags." Maggie stood up. Her face took on a look of determination.

"Come on Sophi. Let's vanish outta here. By the time they realize that we're gone, we'll be back home." I shook my head.

"Maggie, I can't vanish remember? And you aren't strong enough yet to vanish someone else out of here. Besides, they have a camera over the door. Don't look!" She started to turn her head. I suddenly had a moment of inspiration. At least I could save one of us. I needed to test and see if the camera was picking up sound as well. "I can't take this anymore. If you can hear me, anyone, I'm willing to betray Jeff and lure him here. Then you guys can kill him like you want to. Come in here now and we'll do this." I said out loud. I had looked away so that I wasn't facing the camera.

"What are you talking about Sophi? Why woul…"

"Shh!" I told her quietly, discreetly covering my mouth. "I'm testing something." She just nodded. We sat there in silence for a few minutes. When the door didn't open, I was pretty sure there was no sound. I started to pull myself up to a standing position. "Okay, Maggie this is what you're gonna do. Don't look at it, but there is a big vase over by the wall. Do you see it?" By this time I had made it to my feet and was leaning over the bed.

"Yeah, I see it."

"Good. In a few seconds, I'm gonna stand up and face away from you. I want you to grab that vase and hit me with it, knocking me out."

"Sophi? Wha…" I didn't give her a chance to finish.

"Then I want you to vanish back to my, no, Jeff's house and tell them everything is fine. Don't you dare tell Jeff where here is Maggie." I told her when I saw her take out her phone out of her pocket. "Don't let him come Maggie. It's a trap and they'll kill him. Tell Jeff that I love him, but don't come for me. I can't let him die. Promise me, Maggie. Promise me that you'll tell him." I saw her nod. "Okay Maggie. Here we go."

"Wait Sophi! I can't do this. I can't leave you here and Jeff will kill me."

"No, he won't. You don't have a choice. As your Queen, I'm ordering you to do this. Now, hit me!"

"Sophi, please. I can't leave you with them. I can't do this." I felt the threat of tears listening to the desperation in her voice. I knew it was killing her to do this but I needed to get her out of here and out of danger.

"Margerette Laurell, your Queen demands that you do this. Go get the vase now!" I said through gritted teeth. I heard her walking over towards it. "Promise me that you won't tell Jeff where I am." Maggie sniffed. She was crying.

"I promise." I stood up and wobbled. I turned my back to her like I was trying to keep my balance.

"Tell Jeff that I love him."

"I will." I felt her step closer.

"I love you Maggie." She sniffed again.

"I love you too Sophi." Maggie knock the shit out of me with the vase. I was out before I hit the floor.

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Jeff's POV

I hung up the phone. I had just made arrangements for triple security at all of the buildings I owned. I was making sure that none of the vamps from Taker's gang were getting in to disturb anything or anyone. I had this weird feeling that someone was watching me. I looked up to notice someone standing in the doorway. Maggie. I vanished to the doorway.

"Maggie! Holy shit, are you okay?" I hugged her tightly to me. She nodded against my chest and started to cry. As soon as I said her name, everyone in the room looked. Randy was by our side in an instant later.

"Maggie," I let go of her and she flew into his arms, "Baby, I'm so glad your okay. I was going crazy." He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back trying to calm down her crying. I was so glad that Maggie was okay. My heart sunk back to it's depth of despair as I realized that Sophi wasn't with her. I looked out in the hall, hoping that maybe she was out there. No, she wasn't there. I turned back to Maggie and Randy.

"Maggie," I started. The tears started to roll down her cheeks again.

"She made me leave her Jeff. I didn't want to but she made me." She went on to tell me exactly what Sophi made her do. Sophi was sacrificing herself so that the rest of us would be safe.

"Where were you guys, Maggie?" She looked away and shook her head. I walked over to her and laid a hand on her arm. "Maggie, please. I need to know where she is. I have to go to her." She shook her head again.

"She mad me swear not to tell you. It's a trap. They are going to kill you, Jeff. Sophi told me to tell you that she loves you and not to come for her. She says she can't let you die for her." Maggie cried harder. She fished in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She handed her phone to Randy.

"I know it's a trap but I don't care Maggie. I have to save her, even if it means my life. Please, Maggie…" I was literally reduced to begging.

"Randy, there are new pictures on my phone." Maggie said, tapping the phone where it lay in Randy's hand.

"Baby, this isn't the time to look at…"

"Randy, PLEASE look at the pictures." Maggie became insistent. It dawned on me what she was telling him. He started to say no again.

"Randy, look at the damn pictures!" He looked at me and then back at the phone. He flipped it open and scrolled through them. "What are they of man?"

"Ah, there's one of some woods, the side of a house, an empty bedroom and…" he looked back at me.

"What? What's the next one?" He handed me the phone. The screen had gone black. I hit the button to bring it back up. I felt my heart clinch in my chest. It was of Sophi. She was leaned over with her hands rested on the bed. The phone made a popping noise as I gripped it tighter. The side of her face, that I could see, was already starting to bruise. I could tell that her lip had recently been busted. He arms were also bruised. Thank God she was still alive though. "When did you take this?" I asked Maggie.

"Right before I came here. They aren't gonna kill her Jeff. They're gonna use her. Taker wants her to have his children, Jeff. He plans on raping her to get them. Jeff, please don't tell Sophi that I told you any of this. She'll be so mad." I snapped Maggie's phone shut and handed it back to Randy before I crushed it.

"Don't worry Maggie. She'll never know."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Kane gave me this when I vanished outside of the house." She handed me a folded piece of paper. The small paragraph told me that he was keeping an eye on Sophi and making sure that they didn't hurt her too badly. He also said that he would be there when we came and to be extra careful. Taker fully intended to kill me and take the city, making Sophi his Queen.

Everything I already knew.

"Okay," I looked back at everyone gathered in the room, "as much as I want to fly in there 'guns blazing', we need to come up with a…" I paused as I heard a knock on the front door.

"Who would that be?" John asked me. I shrugged.

"I don't know. Brad," one of my vamps stepped up to me, "go check and see who's there." He bowed slightly.

"Yes sir." He vanished and was back about 20 seconds later.

"Who was it?" I asked.

"I don't know. No one was there when I opened the door but this," he handed me a manila envelope, "was laying on the step."

"It was just laying there?" I asked, taking the envelope.

"Yes sir. Just laying there." I flipped the envelope over. It simply said, '_Open Me_' on the outside. I lifted the tab and empty the contents on my desk. All the envelope contained was a DVD with '_Sophibella Hardy_' written on it.

"Matt," I walked over and pulled a chair in front of the TV in the corner, "can you put this in for me?" Matt took the DVD from me and slid it into the player, pushed play and turned on the TV. Everyone in the room gathered around behind me as the TV came on.

The screen stayed black for about 30 seconds then abruptly changed to a shot of Sophi. She had been stripped down to her plum colored bra and panties. She was crying and begging for the few vampires and Adam to stop. Adam was touching her and the few vamps were biting and drinking from her. She was trying to get away but couldn't. Her arms were handcuffed to the headboard and her legs were tied to the foot of the bed. I heard the chair groan from the serious grip I had on the armrest.

"_Enough!" _Taker's voice boomed from the video. He walked into the shot. Adam and the other vamps stepped back. Taker ran his finger across one of her few still bleeding wounds. Sophi looked away from him as he licked his finger. _"Oh, don't hide now my dear, you better get used to me drinking your blood. Or you could…tell Hardy to come for you."_

"_No." _She said quietly. He roughly grabbed her face and turned her back to face the camera.

"_Tell him to come for you!" _Taker said again. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"_No." _She said a little bit louder. _"Don't come Jeff. It's a trap. I love you but don't come for me."_ Taker let go of Sophi's face and backhanded her, splitting her lip again. The arm of the chair I was sitting in, cracked under my grip. Taker grabbed her face again.

"_Tell him!" _Her yelled at her. The blood from her lip trickled down her chin to leave a trail of brilliant red down the cream colored skin of her neck. She stayed quiet as her tongue flicked out and licked at the cut on her lip. Taker shook her face and yelled at her again. _"Tell him!"_

"_Fuck you."_ Taker growled. He let go of her face and wrapped his massive hand around her small delicate throat, cutting off her air supply. Her eyes widened when she lost the ability to breathe. Taker turned his face to the camera.

"_If you ever want to see your precious Queen again, you'll come." _He let her go. She gasped and inhaled sharply, trying to catch her breath. _"Or don't." _He stroked a hand down her stomach as she coughed, trying to clear her throat. She tried to move away from his touch. _"I'm kinda liking keeping her here at my disposal. I can't wait until she is fully broken and I have my turn at her. You better make your decision quickly, Hardy. Your lovely Queen's time is running out." _The screen faded into black. I had noticed the time in the corner of the video. It had to have been made moments after Maggie left.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maggie walking towards me. I didn't want to deal with anyone right now. I was on the verge of my breaking point. I was _way_ beyond livid. I wanted to break something or better yet, kill someone. Maggie stopped just short of touching me.

"Jeff?" The arm of the chair came off in my hand. Maggie jumped back away from me. Randy was instantly by her side and trying to push her behind him. I stood up and dropped the wooden arm to the floor. I held my hand up to stop Maggie from coming any closer to me. I shook my head 'no'. I vanished upstairs to our room. I paced back and forth, trying to control my anger. I know that Sophi needed me to have a cool head. I need to be able to think clearly or I would get the both of us killed. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Taker hit her and touch her. I turned and slammed my fist into the wall.

"Shit!" I looked at my bloody hand. Sophi would kill me if I got blood all over the floor. I walked into our bathroom to wash off the blood and splashed some of the cool water on my face. I left my hands on the edge of the sink, staring down at the drain in the sink as the rest of the water slowly drained out. I have to calm down enough to get to her. I blindly grabbed a towel from rack beside the sink. I wiped off my hands and face. I went to hang the towel back up and noticed Sophi's red silk robe hanging on the corner of the towel rack. She must have taken it off when she got into the shower and hung it there.

I touched the silken fabric. I lifted the robe to my face, rubbing it against my cheek. The silk reminded me of the feel of Sophi's skin. I inhaled deeply, filling my senses with her intoxicating scent. I could smell the subtle scent of her perfume and the lilac and honey scent of her skin. I inhaled again, finding myself calming down enough that I could think some what rationally. As mad as I was, I needed to tamp some of that down. My anger wasn't as important as bringing my Sophi safely home to me was. I glanced down at my left palm, seeing our shared truing mark. I curled my hand into a fist.

Okay, I was ready. I hung her robe back up where I found it and vanished back down to my office. Everyone jumped to attention when they noticed me. I waved them down.

"I'm ready to plan our attack. Let's bring our Queen home."

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I wiped my eyes on my bicep, which was the only part of my arm that I could reach. They hurt so bad from being stretched up above my head. I was laying handcuffed to this bed, waiting for Taker to either kill me or rape me repeatedly until I became pregnant with his child. God, I hoped Jeff listened to me and didn't come for me. I started to cry again as I thought about how much I had secretly, in the last few weeks, thought that I might get pregnant soon and Jeff and I could have a child of our own. A little boy or girl with dark hair and Jeff's beautiful green eyes. Now, I would never see or hold or love that child. I was as good as dead chained to this bed. Stop! I mentally scolded myself for thinking this way. Somehow, I'll get out of here and find my way back to Jeff. Maybe…yeah right. Who the hell was I kidding?

I wiped my eyes again as the door opened. Great! Another round of torture the Queen. As soon as Taker had finished making his little video for Jeff, he gave his men free rein on me with only one warning and one rule. Warning: If any of them got me pregnant, the child belonged to him. They were not to challenge him on that. Rule: They couldn't kill me. Everything else was fair game. Yeah, lucky me. So far, none of the vampires had tried to rape me. Mostly, they had beat me and threatened me with the sexual things they wanted to do to me. I glanced at the door to see who my abuser was this time.

"Finally, a little alone time with the Queen." Miz said with an evil grin on his face. I looked away. "Aww, don't go all shy on me now Mrs. Hardy." He ran his hand down my stomach, stopping just short of my panties. "I'm gonna pretend that I'm not upset that my Maggie Mae turned on you and left before we had our chance together." The consensus among Taker and his men was that Maggie had hit me to save herself and then left me here at their mercy. God damn, they were stupid. If there was any kind of smart in them, they would have known that she would never do something like that. "Are you gonna ignore me now?" I still didn't say anything. He grabbed my face, turning me towards him and slapped me. "Is that what you like? Do you like to be hurt? Is that what turns you on?" He leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Is that how you like for Hardy to fuck you, baby doll? Abuse and then hot sweat sex?" He licked my ear and stood up. "Well, I think I can handle that. You don't mind if I pretend that your Maggie do you?" He pulled his shirt over his head and leaned down over me again. "Do you think my dick is bigger than Orton's? I'm sure it is and it would make my Maggie Mae so much more happy than Orton ever could."

"She would rather die." I said quietly. Miz's eyes quickly turned black. He growled and moved down to my side right below my ribs.

"By the time we're done with you baby doll, so will you." He bit down hard on my flesh causing me to cry out in pain. "You like that? I knew you would. Do you want me to do it again?" He didn't let me answer. He moved a few centimeters over and bit down again. This time, I bit down on my own lip, keeping myself from making noise again. I tasted my own blood. Miz growled again when someone knocked on the door. "What the fuck do you want?" He yelled. The door cracked open slowly and Jay walked in.

"Man, your time is up. It's my turn to have a shot at the Queen." Miz grumbled. He leaned down and licked my ear again.

"We'll finish this later, baby doll." I jerked my head as far away from him as I could. He laughed. Miz grabbed his shirt and stomped out, shoulder-checking Jay on the way out. Jay shook his head and shut the door behind him. I heard the lock click. My heart jumped to my throat. None of the others had done that. He was going to be the one to finally rape me. Jay had been the only one I wasn't completely terrified of. His eyes had always seemed a little kinder than any of the others. I guess I was wrong.

Jay stopped by the side of the bed. When he pulled his shirt over his head, I turned my head. The tears began to fall yet again. Jay climbed into the bed and started to position himself over me.

"Please, you don't have to do this." I begged quietly. "Please. It doesn't have to come to this. You don't have to let me go, just…" Jay lowered himself on top of me but oddly, hovered just above my body. He tucked his head against my neck.

"Shh…it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I wouldn't never dream of hurting my Queen." Jay said quietly near my ear. "I'm Jeff's source. I'm here to protect you." I froze as his words sunk in. He moved his face like he was kissing my neck. "I came to tell you that your people are coming to save you. I'll be on their side. There will probably be a fight and I wanted to give you a heads up." I nodded slightly. "I need to make it look like you made me mad so I have a reason for not going ahead with hurting you." He paused. "I need to slap you. I won't hit you that hard, but I need you to sell it. Okay?"

"Okay." I whispered. Jay pushed himself away from me and sat back on his knees between mine.

"I'm sorry, my Queen." He reared back and slapped me. The hit was nothing more than him pushing my face. I jerked my head to the side like he slapped the hell out of me. He climbed out of the bed and leaned back in my face like he was threatening me. "Any moment now." He turned, grabbed his shirt and huffed out of the door, slamming it behind him. I noticed that when he unlocked the door and pulled it open, he locked it back.

My mind began to race at the possibility that I might get out of here. I barely had time to focus my thoughts when I felt the atmosphere change, letting me know that someone had vanished into the room with me. I looked down past the foot of the bed where my legs were tied. I felt a wave of relief followed quickly by a wave of fear wash over me. I was grateful that they had come for me, but I knew every single person standing there, it would kill me to see one of them hurt. Randy, John and Matt were standing at the forefront of the somewhat semi-circle. If they got hurt, I would never forgive myself. Neither would Maggie or Jeff ever forgive me either.

"What are you doing in here? You have to get out! They can see you cause they're watching me!" I yelled at them, trying to make them understand that they needed to leave. I couldn't let them stay and watch them get hurt or worse…killed. Suddenly, I saw Randy and John being shoved forward. They moved out of the way as Jeff came barreling towards me. He was by my side an instant later. He lightly ran his hands over my body, making sure that I was relatively fine. He placed both hands on my face as I watched the look of relief come over his face. He kissed me repeatedly.

"Love, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I let this happen. I'm gonna get you out of here." I shook my head.

"No, Jeff! You cant be here!" I felt the tears start to roll down my cheeks. "Jeff, he wants to kill you. I don't want you to die for me. Please, just leave me. I'll get out somehow. Please…" I pleaded with Jeff to listen to me. He just smiled softly and kissed me again.

"You know I can't leave you here. I'll never leave you behind, Sophi. Never. I'm going to try not to die, but you know this is my fight." Jeff took off his button up shirt, leaving him in just a black wife beater, and covered me up with it. "_**I**_ have to be the one to kill him. Not only for what he did to my family, but for what he's done to you. I can't let him live." He moved down to the foot of the bed and untied my ankles which I had continuously rubbed raw from trying to free them. He briefly touched , just a whisper of his fingertips, the abraded skin of my ankles, cursing softly under his breath.

He came back to the handcuffs. I looked up above my head as Jeff grabbed the chain and attempted to pull apart the links. "Fuck!" he said quietly to himself. He attempted to break apart the section of headboard I was attached to at least get me loose. By this time, John had come over to help Nothing was happening.

"I think they're lead, Jeff." John told him. So that was why Jeff didn't just grab me and vanish us out of here. The lead in the handcuffs and headboard were enough to prevent it.

"I don't care. If we have to, we'll take the whole damn bed with us." Jeff said. Why was he still here? Why wasn't he listening to me? Didn't he understand the danger he was in?

"Jeff, please…please leave me. You have to go. Baby, please just go. He's gonna kill you." I sobbed. Jeff stopped trying to break the headboard to cup my face.

"Love, shh…it's okay." He kissed my forehead. "You'll be okay, I promise. Don't cry." He leaned in and kissed my ear. "Do you love me Sophi?" He whispered to me.

"Yes, Jeff. You know I do. More than anything." I whispered back.

"Then will you trust me to save you, love?" I hesitated, but nodded.

"Yes, I will." He smiled slightly and kissed my cheek.

"Good." He and John went back to work at trying to get me free. I heard the headboard groan as they pulled it away from the wall in an attempt to break it. They each had a foot on the wall to anchor themselves while they pulled. Everyone in the room turned their heads at the same time to look at the door as it shuddered repeatedly on its hinges.

"Shit! Jeff, we're outta time." John said.

"I know." Jeff reached across me and the bed to grab John's arm. "John, I need you to guard her with your life." John nodded. Jeff looked back down at me, caressing my cheek. "If something happens to me, take care of her. Don't let her follow me into death."

"Yes, sir." John said, bowing his head.

"No, Jeff. Please…" I begged him again. The men formed the same semi-circle around the side of the bed closest to the door. They were a vampire barrier between me and the door.

"I love you, Sophi. Don't you ever forget that. No matter what happens, I'll always love you." He kissed me. "Forever." He whispered. Why did I feel like he was telling me 'Good bye'? My heart felt like it was tearing in two.

Jeff looked over at the door when it started to vibrate dangerously in its jam. All at once, Jeff and John were throwing themselves over me to protect me as the door exploded into the room, raining fragments of woods down on us. The door seemed to blow apart just by someone's violent force of will. Taker. John stood up and blocked me with as much of his body as he could. Jeff touched my face and vanished, only to reappear right in front of his men. I know John was just trying to keep me from seeing but if I raised my head up slightly, I could see between everyone. Taker and his men had filed in and were standing in a similar formation.

"Hardy, finally we meet again." Taker said with an evil smile. "It's a good thing you don't listen to your Queen."

"Taker, let's make this between just you and I. Send everyone out of here, including my Queen and we'll end this." Jeff said, nonchalantly. Not like his life was on the line or anything. Taker just laughed.

"Why would I do that when I want your precious Queen to see me kill you. The first time I take her, I want to be covered in your blood." Taker growled at him.

"I'll ask you one more time, send everyone out of here and let's keep this between us or I'll be forced to have my men attack." Jeff said, still acting like it didn't matter one way or the other. I, on the other hand was going insane. This was my own personal hell. Having to watch Jeff fight Taker and meet his possible death was the worst moment of my life. This truly was my hell. If Jeff died today, I would cease to live. I would will my heart and body to shut down. I wasn't going to live without him.

"No way in hell, Hardy." Jeff nodded.

"Fine." Jeff flicked his left hand and his men, except Randy, John and Matt, went for them. Taker's men busted ass getting out of the room. No doubt to lure the men to other parts of the house so that Taker could have the upper hand. Jay, Kane and Aaron stayed behind. "Now, that's a little better and _**I**_have the upper hand." Taker narrowed his eyes at Jeff.

"How do you figure that Hardy?" To Taker's surprise, Jay walked from behind him to stand behind Jeff, next to Randy.

"You fuckin' trader! I knew you were no good!" Aaron said, pointing to Jay. Taker waved his hand, silencing him.

"Now, this fight is going to be between the two of us. Neither of them will interfere and my men won't either." Taker nodded once. Jeff didn't hesitate. He charged forward hooking his arms around his waist and dropping him to the floor. Jeff laid into him, punching him continuously in the face and upper body. Taker took a couple of good hits and then came back with some of his own. Taker got one good one that knocked Jeff off of him and sent him skidding across the floor. I made a quiet noise. John turned around to look at me.

"Baby, you shouldn't watch this." He used his thumb to wipe the flowing tears from my cheeks. "He wouldn't want you to cry over him. He's gonna be okay. Despite what he told us, we aren't gonna let him kill Jeff." I whimpered quietly at the thought of Jeff dying. "Don't cry baby. He'll be okay." He rubbed my cheek and spun back around as Jeff grunted in pain. Taker had knocked him to the floor near the foot of the bed. He grabbed Jeff by the throat and lifted him off the floor. He shoved him into the wall across from the foot of the bed. Jeff's feet were a good foot off of the ground.

"Should I let your Queen watch you die? Do you think she'll be damaged from that?" Taker got into his face. "Do you think she'll cry over you while I fuck her?" Jeff growled and slammed his forehead down into Taker's nose, instantly breaking it. He dropped Jeff to grab his destroyed nose. "You wanna go for blood and broken bones? You wanna up it? Fine, we'll do it your way. Aaron, swords. I'll even be fair to you Hardy boy. I'll get you one too."

"Shit!" John muttered to himself.

"What? Please, tell me." I said. John just shook his head. "I'm still Queen here damn it! Tell me NOW, John!" He sighed heavily.

"Taker's weapon of choice is his sword. He has killed many people with that sword. Including Jeff and Matt's father." I sucked in my breath. Oh God. I felt ill. This was it. I was going to see Jeff die before me. I couldn't breath as Aaron reappeared with two wicked mid-evil looking swords. Aaron handed Taker his and dropped the remaining sword at Jeff's feet. Taker took a couple of steps away from Jeff. He grinned.

"Now, we fight." Jeff got his sword up in just enough time to deflect Taker's deadly swing. Steel clashed against steel over and over again, sending out sparks every time the two swords met. They both got a couple of swipes in and were pretty evenly matched until Taker got lucky. He stabbed Jeff in the side. When Jeff doubled over in pain, Taker used the flat side of his sword to hit him in the back of his legs, driving Jeff to his knees. He must have hurt Jeff badly cause he wasn't getting back up. It looked like Jeff was having trouble breathing.

"My dear," Taker directed at me, "you may want to watch this. This is the end of your King's life." He raised his sword above his head, readying to deliver the death blow. Think Sophi, think.

"No!" I screamed, causing Taker to pause. "Me. Kill me instead." I yelled to him.

"No, Sophi." Jeff said weakly from the floor.

"Ah, that is actually a good idea. What's better than for him to watch you die and then for me to kill him." Taker took a step towards me. Jay, Randy and Matt tightened up their formation in front of John and I. They had no intentions of letting Taker near me without him going through them first. "I will cut every single one of you down to get to her. I have no problem killing all of you, even her _supraveghere_ there." John growled. "Now, move before I kill everyone." They didn't budge. "Fine. Now, you're dead too." Taker raised his sword to cut down Randy. Before he could start the swing, Kane reached out and grabbed his wrist. A startled Taker turned to look at Kane. "What the hell are you doing?" He bellowed at him. He tried to pull his arm away but Kane refused to let go. "Kane, let me go." Kane just stared him down. "I'll kill you for this." Taker growled.

"No, you won't." Jeff said quietly from the floor. Taker looked down at him in the same instant that Jeff drove his sword through Taker's chest. Jeff stood up and forced the blade out of his back. Taker's sword clanked to the floor as his eyes widened in shock and surprise. Jeff snarled as he twisted the sword. "That is for all the _strigoi_ you have killed." Jeff twisted it again. "This is for my mother and father." He twisted again as he shoved Taker down to his knees. "And this is for you daring to touch and threaten my Sophi." Jeff yanked out the sword. "You'll never be able to hurt anyone ever again." Taker's breath was harshly sawing in and out as he slowly died.

"Finish it." Taker muttered, barely breathing. Jeff smiled.

"Enjoy hell, Mark." The blade whistled through the air, severing Taker's head from his body. His body slowly tipped forward and hit the floor as his head lay close by. Jeff stripped off his wife beater and wiped Taker's blood off his face and dropped the shirt over Taker's head.

Randy, Matt, John and Jay moved aside to let Jeff get to me. I couldn't stop the tears of pure joy that cascaded down my cheeks at the sight of him walking towards me. I could see the stab wound on his side had already stopped bleeding and was starting to close up.

"John, stay here." Jeff turn to the rest of them. "Go help them round up the rest of his men and bring them here to me." They nodded and headed out the door. "John, hand me Taker's sword." John walked over to Taker's body and picked up his discarded weapon and handed it to Jeff. He finally came back to me.

"Love," he touched my cheek, "close your eyes." I closed them tight. I heard the sword whistle through the air again. Suddenly, my arms went limp and fell to the bed. Jeff had cut through the chain. I was free. I opened my eyes to find Jeff's face right there. He smiled and kissed me. "He's gone, love. I got rid of him for you." He whispered to me.

"Is it really over? Is he really gone Jeff?" I asked. He grinned and kissed me again.

"Yes, love, it's really over. He's gone forever." He helped me sit up. My arms still hurt but at least I was starting to get some of the feeling back in them.

Jeff was helping me slip his button up shirt up my shoulders when the men started to file in with their, for lack of a better word, POWs. Temporary POWs. John, who had stayed with Jeff and I, had been watching Kane and Aaron. When everyone had filed in, Jeff made the POWs kneel. He stepped in front of them, holding on to me. He wanted them to know who was still in charge, who was still King and Queen after all was said and done.

"I'm going to give each of you a choice. You can either choose to acknowledge me as your King and serve me and the Queen or you can chose not to. If you chose to serve me, all your past sins under Taker will be over looked and I will find you a nice stable job and a place to live so you can become a productive part of the city. If you chose not to serve me, you will be executed, here on the spot." Jeff let go of me and kissed my cheek. "Please stay back here, love. I don't want them near you until I can be sure that they pose no threat to you," he whispered in my ear. I brushed some of his hair away from his face and nodded.

"Okay, baby."

Jeff stepped up to each vampire in turn and asked them the same question, 'Will you acknowledge me as your King?" Each answered, 'Yes, your majesty.' They bowed, with their foreheads touching the floor at Jeff's feet, the ultimate sign of respect and also asking for forgiveness. Even Aaron, the one who had drugged me and stood by Taker's side till the end, said yes to Jeff and bowed at his feet. He even gave Jeff the key to my handcuffs that he had in his pocket.

Then Jeff came to Kane. He asked him the same question. Kane said nothing. "I'm sorry. I forgot that you don't speak." Jeff said to him. "You may nod 'yes' or 'no'. Will you serve me?" Kane looked at the floor.

"No." He said quietly. Everyone was stunned. One, Kane was the first one to say 'no' and two, that was the first word he had spoken in some twenty-something years.

"No?" Jeff asked, not believing.

"No. I'm sorry your majesty but my loyalty lies somewhere else. I can not serve you." I was stunned. How could Kane say 'no'? he was the one who essentially saved Jeff's life.

"Well, then who do your loyalties lie with?" Jeff asked. Kane looked up and directly at me.

"They lie with the Queen. I will serve her or no other. Not that I don't acknowledge you, my King, but she is the one I chose to serve." Kane bowed in my direction. Jeff looked at me and then back at Kane. He held his hand out to me, asking me to come to his side. Once I did, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him.

"Sophi, this is up to you." He stroked my lower back. He kissed my cheek. "It's your decision, love."

"Oh," I looked down at Kane, who was currently bowing at my feet. I looked back at Jeff. He could obviously read what I was thinking. He nodded, letting me know that it was okay. I reached out and touched Kane's shoulder, making him look up. "please, you don't have to bow to me. If anything, I should be bowing to you."

"_Regina mea_?" My Queen? He asked, clearly not understanding what I meant. I smiled at him.

"You saved Maggie and I when we were little. You kept Taker from killing us. And just now, you saved Jeff's life and my life once again. Kane, please stand up." Kane looked at Jeff, who nodded. Kane stood up.

"Kane…"

"_Regina mea_, if you would, could you please call me by the name my mother gave me? I don't want to be called by the name that Taker gave me." He kept looking at the floor.

"Of course. What would you like me to call you?"

"Glen. Please call me Glen." I smiled slightly.

"Okay…Glen. Thank you, for everything. I wholeheartedly accept your loyalty and servitude." I touched his arm. Again, he went to his knees in front of me. He took my right hand and kissed the Black Diamond ring. (Another sign of respect, Jeff later told me.)

"_Regina mea_, I will do my best by you. I'll never fail you." I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"I know." I stepped back into the comfort of Jeff's arms. Jeff directed Randy to take Taker's former men back to the hotel. They would stay on the 13th floor. We never booked the some 20 odd rooms on that floor. The double-occupancy rooms were used for things like this. If a vampire needed a place to stay, Jeff set them up in one of those rooms. Randy started making calls. The first one was to Maggie letting her know that he was fine and so was everyone else.

I stay attached to Jeff's side. I just needed to hold on to him, reassuring myself that he was really okay. Jeff had a serious grip on me as well. I guess he was thinking the same thing about me. I looked up into his face. He had a bruise along one side of his jaw, bruising along his neck and an almost healed cut on his cheek. I knew I didn't look much better but I had never been so happy to be beat up and see Jeff beat up in my entire life. The alternative was simply unbearable to think about. I pressed my face against his shoulder and laid a hand on his bare chest. He looked at me and smiled. He turned so that I was pressed fully against his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist and settled my cheek above his heart. It was wonderful to hear it pounding in my ear. Jeff softly stroked my hair.

"Jeff?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, love?" He said, still stroking my hair. I pulled back to look at him.

"Can we get the hell out of here and go home?" He smiled again, leaning in to kiss my forehead.

"Yes we can. Let's go home." Jeff pulled out his phone and called Dr. Dave, asking him to meet us at the house. He let Randy, Matt and John know that we were leaving and vanished us back to our room.

I was home. I was home, with Jeff and we were both alive. This was the most glorious feeling. Dr. Dave arrived a few minutes later and, at Jeff's insistence, made sure that I truly was okay. To turn the tables, I made Jeff get his side checked out. We were both fine. Bruised and battered, but still, for the most part, we were fine. He left a few moments later, leaving Jeff and I alone.

I insisted that I take a shower. I wanted to wash off all traces of Taker and the abuse I suffered at his hands. At the same time, Jeff vanished down the hall and took a shower in the guest bathroom.

I finished up, wrapped myself in my robe and walked back into our room, just as Jeff vanished back in. The moment Jeff saw me, he walked over and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight.

He lifted me up and carried me, bridal style, over to the bed. He laid me down and crawled in beside me. Jeff wrapped his arms around me again and pulled me against his body, just holding me. He pressed a kiss to my temple and laid his forehead there.

Was this a dream? Was I really here with him and everything was okay?

"Jeff?"

"Hmm?" He pressed another kiss to my temple.

"This is real, right? Taker's gone and we're okay?"

"Yes, love. This is real. He's gone. We're fine." I closed my eyes.

"I'm not gonna wake up and be back in that room again am I? I don't think I could take that." A few tears slipped from beneath my lashes. I felt Jeff's hand softly caress my face.

"Sophi. Look at me, love." I opened my eyes to find myself staring into Jeff's amazing Emerald eyes. "You are never gonna be in that house again. Tomorrow morning, I'll have some of our men go through the house to see if there is anything useful there, then…I'm burning it to the ground. I don't want you to ever have to see that house again. By tomorrow evening, every trace of Taker in the city will be gone." I burrowed myself closer to Jeff's body. I kissed his chest.

"I love you, Jeff. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I'm so glad that you came into my life." I kissed his chest again. "Thank you for not listening to me and coming to save me. I love you so much."

"I couldn't breathe when I saw them take you. I knew that I was going to die if they killed you. I could never _not_ come for you, love. I love you with every fiber of my being. I will never go another day with out telling you." I looked up into the face of my love, the man that I planned on spending the rest of my eternity with.

"Telling me that you love me everyday? You do that already. And besides, I know that you do." I kissed his beautiful lips, smiling. He smiled back and kissed me.

"No, I know that I do that, but I need to tell you…Sophibella, my love," he caressed my cheek with his marked palm and kissed me softly, "you were always worth the wait."

**This, sadly is the last chapter. I have just a bit more for you and then the offical end. I do have a question for you though, would you like to see a sequel? Maybe Randy and Maggie's story? I kinda have it worked out but I need to know if you would like to read it. Take a second and tell me what you think! =^.^= **


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue:

A Year and a Half Later…

I very rarely ever think about that day anymore. So much has happened since Taker was finally killed. A couple of weeks after everything settled and we all healed, Jeff and I got married in the field behind the house. It was a really small ceremony. Just me and Jeff, Maggie and Randy, John, Matt and new to the inner group Glen and Jay. We wanted the field to bring back good memories instead of bad.

A month or so later, Maggie and Randy became trued. She and I were in the process of planning a wedding for her. She wanted something bigger than what Jeff and I had. Knowing her, this will be some party.

The only negative thing to really come from that day was that Miz and Adam disappeared. Jeff had feelers out everywhere searching for them, but so far, no word. It was typical of a coward. They were all gung-ho when they had the upper hand, but let the fight come to them and they run for the hills.

Jeff had told me how the alliances that we had formed actually worked. The call was sent out that day and everyone showed up to help. What surprised me the most was that Shane showed up to help. Jeff told me that when he saw me get taken, he went numb. He couldn't do anything or focus. He had wanted to, but his brain wasn't functioning. Shane was the one to actually bring him out of his stupor.

I smiled to myself as I thought about Shane actually being a nice guy and thinking of someone other than himself. I started to empty the bags of things I had bought when I was shopping earlier.

Maggie and I had snuck out of the house earlier that morning and done some shopping. Glen had been the only one to come with us. He was just like my own guard dog. Anyone would come near me and I would have to keep Glen from throwing them down the street.

I hung up the two outfits I had brought. I grinned happily at them as I closed the closet door. I was folding up some t-shirts and putting them away in the chest of drawers. I had my back to the door. I never saw Jeff walk in.

"What are you doing, Sophi?" I squeaked and jumped at the sound of Jeff's voice. I had been humming quietly to myself, totally in my own little world. I spun around to face Jeff, placing my hand over my stomach.

"Jesus Jeff! You scared the hell out of me." He grinned, walking over to me. He placed a hand on either side of my face and kissed me.

"What's all this stuff, love?" He asked picking up a t-shirt that I had dropped. I plucked it out of his hands.

"Just a few things we needed. I went shopping with Maggie this morning." I put my hand over his mouth, stopping him from asking the question I knew was coming next. "Yes, Glen, my guard dog, came with us. We were well protected, baby. He barely let the sales clerk get near us." Jeff smiled and kissed my hand before I pulled it away. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Love? How did you get there this morning? You didn't…"

"No, Jeff, I didn't vanish." I turned back to the chest of drawers to put the t-shirt away. (Oh yeah, I had worked really hard and finally mastered the ability to vanish. I was doing it all the time, up until a few months ago.) "Maggie picked me up."

"Oh." Jeff stepped up behind me, wrapping his arms around me as I put away a few more t-shirts. "I just worry about you. You remember what Dr. Dave told you."

"Yes, no vanishing," I placed my hand over Jeff's, where it was laying on my swollen belly, "until the baby comes." He kissed my cheek. "I know, I have four more months. God, by that time I will have forgotten how to do it." I turned around in Jeff's arms. "Will you teach me again if I forget?" I asked, smiling softly.

"Of course, love." He kissed me. "When the little one is born, I'll re-teach you everything." He said with a wicked grin. I patted his cheek.

"Don't worry. I'll never forget how to do that." He laughed quietly. I kissed him. "Do you think that you'll be able to wait that long, baby?" He smiled.

"Love, I would wait for you forever."

**I just want to say an enormous THANK YOU to everyone who read this story. You have made me feel really amazing about what I have written. I can't thank you enough. I truly love all of you!**

**Till next time...Love, =^.^= **


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